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BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

BY 

OCTAVIUS THORNDIKE HOWE, M.D. 



REPRINTED FROM 

THE PUBLICATIONS 
OF 

(B\)t Colonial ^ociet^ of Spas^acljugetCfif 
Vol. XXIV 



CAMBRIDGE 

JOHN WILSON AND SON 

?ri)c Janibtrjsttg ^xtss 

1922 






'^ ^ °» ^ (, t 

2 3 



BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



BEVERLY PRIVATEERS 

IN THE 

AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



Intkoduction 

At the opening of the War of the Revolution Beverly numbered 
about 3000 inhabitants. Its sea coast extended for six miles along 
the north shore in alternate sections of rocky point and sandy beach. 
Back from the shore line, from jNIanchester on the east to Wenham 
on the north and Danvers on the west, the land, broken and rolling, 
was dotted with farms and partly covered with pine woods. The 
soil was fairly fertile for New England and watered by numerous 
brooks. The inhabitants were farmers tilling their own farms, 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 319 

fishermen, mariners, merchants, professional men, and the mechanics 
and middlemen necessary in every village. Manufactures were only 
such as commerce and fishing necessitated, rope making, sail making 
and probably some ship building. There were five small distilleries 
where molasses from the West Indies was converted into rum. 

The harbor was for vessels of the size used in those days, a safe, 
convenient and fairly deep one. In the harbor between the Point 
and the site of the bridge now connecting Beverly and Salem lay 
the wharves, the first, counting from the ocean side, Union wharf, 
now Guffey's, next Bartlett's and Glover's, later occupied by Colonel 
Israel Thorndike. At the head of this wharf on Water Street was a 
large storehouse with an archway entrance from the street. Next 
Lovett's and Standley's wharf, then Stephen Nourse's wharf, later 
occupied by Nourse & Stephens, next followed in order, Pickard 
and Woodbury's, J. & H. Morgan's, Foster and Lovett's, Picket's, 
Ober's now Preston's, Deacon John Safford's, and Distillery wharf. 
There were also a few wharves in Bass River, used during the war 
for captured prizes. At the head of the wharves and along Water 
Street were the warehouses of the Beverly merchants, and along the 
shore from the Point toward the Cove w^ere the fish flakes where the 
salted cod were dried in the sun. Most of the merchants and im- 
porters did a retail as well as wholesale business, selling to the fisher- 
men, salt, nets, lines and clothing, and exchanging dress goods, rum, 
sugar, linen and flour for fish, grain, lumber and country produce. 

Prior to the Revolutionary War Beverly was essentially a fishing 
village and all its commerce was based on this staple. In 1772 
the fishing fleet consisted of 30 vessels of the following ownership, 
tonnage and value: 

NAMES OF OWNERS T^^xr^^^ TONNAGE VALUE 

OWNED IN POUNDS 

Benj. Davis 3 160 900 

Josiah Batchelder 2 120 600 

Thomas Woodberry 1 55 300 

Jonathan Lovett 23^ 150 750 

WiUiam Bartlett 2 120 600 

Thomas Stephens 1% 90 450 

Israel Thorndike 6% 150 900 

J. & A. Cabot 2 120 600 

P. Obear & Co 2)4 65 300 

Carried forward 23J^ 1030 5400 



320 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

NAMES OF OWNERS nw^^n^ TONNAGE ^^^^^ 

O-WJvED IN POUNDS 

Brought forward 23>^ 1030 5400 

H. Thorndike 1 65 300 

Benj. Ober 1 65 300 

Isaac Thorndike 1 55 300 

Zebulan Ray 1 60 300 

Benj. Dodge 1 60 300 

Benj. Lovett 2_ 130 600 

303^ 1465 7500 

The whole value of the fishing industry is given as 17,825 pounds. 
Most of the fishing vessels were schooners and all small enough to 
trade, when not fishing, with the West Indies, a trade i-tstricted by 
both France and England to vessels of seventy tons or under. The 
best cod fish were sent to Spain, the inferior to the West Indies. 

The total value of the exports from Beverly in 1772 is not obtain- 
able, but besides fish the merchants of Beverly exported masts, 
spars, and manufactured lumber in its various forms. Vessels 
engaged in foreign trade were as follows: 

NAMES OF OWNERS I^J^^Jc TONNAGE VALUE 

\"ESSELS IN POUNDS 

Thomas Davis 1 100 300 

Josiah Batchelder 1 60 300 

Livermore Whittredge 1 90 300 

Isaac Thorndike 1 80 300 

J. & A. Cabot 2 300 940 

S. Raymond 1 90 350 

John Dyson 1 90 400 

Israel Thorndike _2 100 600 

10 910 3490 

There was also a coasting trade to Maine for lumber, to Maryland 
and Virginia for flour, and to Carolina for rice, not to mention the 
West India trade, which was large, and both coasting and fishing 
vessels were used in this. The total tonnage of the town, probably 
underestimated, is given as 2406 tons.^ . In 1772 the value of the 
real estate in Beverly is given as 113,000 pounds, personal property 
45,000 pounds, making the total valuation 158,000 pounds. In 1775 
the fishing fleet consisted of 35 schooners manned by over 300 men. 
In 1775 Beverly was only surpassed in Essex County by Salem and 
Newbur;vT)ort in the wealth, and by Ipswich, INIarblehead, Salem, 
and Newburj'port, in the number of its inhabitants. It had many 

1 Nathan Dane Papers (Massachusetts Historical Society). 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 321 

stores, seventy is the number given, and rivalled or surpassed Salem 
in the quantity and quality of the merchandise offered. This was 
chiefl}" due to the large importing house of J. & A. Cabot. The firm 
doing business under this name consisted of George Cabot,^ Joseph 
Lee,- John and Andrew Cabot, and they had gradually built up a 
large business making the Spanish trade a specialty. Their agents 
and correspondents in that country were the firm of Joseph Gardoqui 
& Sons and as early as 1770 their vessels, under command of George 
Cabot, Stephen Cleveland, and Benjamin Lovett, were shipping the 
catch of the Beverly fishermen to Bilbao and bringing back salt, 
iron, cordage, silks, linen, and liquors to the home port. Occasionally 
they sent vessels to Charleston for rice and to Virginia for tobacco 
and shipped thence to their correspondents in Bilbao. 

Next in importance to the Cabots w^as the firm of Brown & 
Thorndike. The senior partner, Moses Brown,^ moved to Beverly 
in 1772 and a few years after formed a partnership with his brother- 
in-law, Israel Thorndike.'* Mr. Brown was a public spirited man, 
enthusiastic in the cause of American independence, a sergeant in 
Larkin Thorndike's company at Lexington, and an officer in several 
of the battles of the Revolution. His partner, Israel Thorndike, was 
a young man of great virility and ambition and as an officer of the 
State navy and commander of several privateers did good service 
to the public cause. The firm dealt largely in broadcloths, velvets 
and dress goods, and also sold supplies to the fishermen. 

One of the oldest houses was that of John & Thomas Stephens. 
They were of old Beverly stock, descendants of John Stephens who 
came over in 1700. The firm owned several merchant and fishing 
vessels and did a general importing business. Other prominent 
business men were Josiah Batchelder, Jr,,^ mariner, captain, mer- 



^ George Cabot (1751-1823), United States Senator, President of the Hart- 
ford Convention, etc. 

2 Joseph Lee (1744-1831), born in Salem. 

3 Moses Brown (1748-1820), born at Waltham; H. C. 1768; raised and com- 
manded a company which left Beverly August 9, 1777; present at the battles 
of Long Island, Trenton, and Harlem Heights. 

^ Israel Thorndike (1755-1825), son of Andrew and Anna (Morgan) Thorn- 
dike. 

^ Josiah Batchelder, Jr. (1737-1828), representative to the General Court; 
member of Congress; innholder; surveyor of the port of Beverly. 



322 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jait. 

chant, shipowner and politician; William Bartlett/ first Naval Agent 
in Massachusetts for the new republic; Larkin Thorndike, soldier, 
merchant and shipowner; John Dyson, William Homans,^ Thomas 
Davis,^ Jonathan Lovett, William Leach,^ Livermore Whittredge,^ 
Benjamin Lovett, Thomas Woodberry,^ and Ebenezer Ellingwood. 

Although the above names appear most often in the mercantile 
and privateering history of Beverly as owners of vessels and privateers, 
it must be remembered that they were by no means sole owners of 
the vessels credited to them. As a matter of policy and insurance a 
merchant preferred to own only a sufficient share of a vessel to give 
him control and the balance, often a half interest, was held by men 
whose names do not appear. IMost of the vessels sailing from Beverly 
in the first three years of the war were manned by Beverly crews 
and always included a strong contingent of Lovetts, Herricks, Gages, 
Thorndikes, Batchelders, Ellingwoods, Fosters, Obers, and Wood- 
berrys, and the two latter families could have officered and manned 
a large privateer with men of their own name. 

The citizens of Beverly had been zealous in resisting what seemed 
to them the t\Tanny of Great Britain, had, like all the other sea port 
towns, evaded the Navigation law, applauded the destruction of tea, 
sympathized with Boston over the Port Bill and contributed liberally 
to the poor of that city. Their Committee of Correspondence 
included such names as John Leach, Benjamin Jones, Henry Herrick, 
Samuel Goodridge, Josiah Batchelder, Joshua Cleves, Nicholas 
Thorndike, Andrew Cabot, Joseph Wood, Livermore Whittredge, 
Israel Thorndike, Edward Giles, William Dodge, William Taylor, 
John Lovett, 3rd, Thomas Stephens, and Josiah Batchelder, Jr. 
These men and many like them made Beverly a town whose naval 
history stands second to none in the records of the American 
Revolution. 

1 William Bartlett (1745-1809), fourth in descent from William Bartlett 
of Frampton, Dorset, England. 

- William Homans (1749-1837), born at Marblehead, died in Beverly. 

5 Thomas Davis, born September 25, 1755, son of Thomas and Abigail 
(Stephens) Davis of Salem. 
. 4 William Leach (1758-1838). 

^ Livermore Whittredge, born February 24, 1740; descended from William 
Whittredge, who came over in 1635 and settled in Ipswich. 

^ Thomas Woodberry, born May 10, 1743, son of Thomas and Lucy (Herrick) 
Woodberry. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 323 

In writing a liistor}' of the privateers of Beverly, one encounters 
certain difRculties which lead to unavoidable omissions and occa- 
sional confusion. Salem and Beverly had one custom house and one 
naval officer, and vessels really belonging to Beverly were often 
credited to Salem. The Salem Gazette, the natural source of infor- 
mation about Beverly vessels, was not published from soon after 
the beginning of the war until 1781.^ The petitions for commissions 
for commanders of private armed vessels in the Massachusetts 
Archives were usually signed by agents and do not necessarily give 
information of the real owner, and in addition are themselves de- 
fective. A paucity of nomenclature, so that for example there were 
24 Dolphins and 14 Fortujies sailing as privateers during the war, 
and the curious custom of giving a new vessel the name of one lost 
or taken by the enemy, add to the confusion. Changes of name, 
rig, and ownership occur with startling rapidity, and these, with a 
general looseness of statement and an astonishing inaccuracy of 
description, characteristic of the times, make the puzzle a hard one 
to unravel. For these and other reasons there were probably more 
privateer and letter of marque vessels sailing from Beverly during 
the war than are described in these pages. The spelling of family 
names follows as far as possible that found in the ^Massachusetts 
Archives, but as names are sometimes spelled in two ways in the 
same petition it hardly seems necessary to be particular. No vessels 
have been included unless sailing from or partly owned in Beverly. 



It is the opinion of some critics, including such an authority as 
Captain Mahan, that privateering as a means of injuring the enemy 
is inferior in its results to the use of state and national vessels. This 
is probably true, but it presupposes that the money spent in equip- 
ping private armed vessels would be expended on the navy and that 
the men manning the vessels would enlist in the national service. 
As a matter of fact in the Revolutionary war it would have been 
impossible to raise by taxation a tithe of the money spent on private 
armed vessels and had the State owned the vessels they could have 
been filled only by impressment. The red tape and rigid discipline 

1 For the newspapers of Salem, see Proceedings American Antiquarian Society, 
XXV. 463-476. 



324 THE COLONL\L SOCIETY OF AIASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

of a public vessel did not appeal to men as did the freer life of a 
privateer; and state ownership was regarded by shipowners as less 
efficient than private control. 

George Washington took command of the army at Cambridge, 
July 3, 1775, but it w^as not until September that he found time to 
take up the question of warfare upon the sea. Already Rhode Island 
and Connecticut had ordered the equipment of armed vessels, South 
Carolina and Georgia had cruizers afloat, and a sloop from Phila- 
delphia had taken the magazine at New Providence. It is probable 
that privateers from Massachusetts without commissions were already 
cruizing, but it was not until September 2, 1775, that the first regular 
commission was issued. On that date, acting under general powers, 
General Washington writes to Nicholas Broughton of Marblehead: 
"You being appointed captain in the army of the United Provinces 
of North America are directed to take command of a detachment of 
said army and proceed on board the schooner Hannah at Beverly 
lately fitted out with arms, ammunition and provisions." The 
Hannah was an ordinary fishing schooner belonging to Colonel 
John Glover, who, although a resident of ]\Iarblehead, owned a 
wharf in Beverly and conducted his fishing business from that place. 
In accordance with these orders Captain Broughton, taking a de- 
tachment from Colonel Glover's regiment of Marblehead fishermen, 
men well fitted for the purpose, hoisted his flag on the Hannah and 
sailed on his first cruize. On September 7, 1775, he writes to 
Washington: "I beg leave to acquaint your Excellency that I sailed 
from Beverly last Tuesday with a fair wind and proceeded on my 
course. Took a ship off Cape Ann and sent her into Gloucester." 
This prize, the first taken by a regularly commissioned Massachusetts 
vessel, was the English ship Unity. 

Colonel Glover and Stephen Moylan, the latter acting secretary 
to Washington, had been appointed a committee to secure vessels 
by purchase or charter for the service of the United Provinces, and 
on October 9, 1775, Colonel ]\Ioylan writes Washington that the 
owners of the Hannah object to putting extra sails on the vessel, 
it being customary to provide only foresail, mainsail and jib. "Col. 
Glover," he continues, "has given the strongest proof of his good 
opinion of the schooner by putting his brother and favorite son on 
her. We have hired a schooner from Marblehead. She is noted for 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 325 

her good qualities and will be ready to take in the Hannah's company 
in 12 or 14 days if any misfortune should follow. She is taken on 
the same terms as the other two, four shillings per ton per month 
or five shillings, four pence, lawful money." 

At the time the Hannah sailed from Beverly, there were two 
vessels lying at the wharves of that town which had been hired for 
the same service, the Lynch and the Franklin. On the return of the 
Hannah, Captain Broughton was ordered to take command of the 
Lynch and Captain Selman, also of Colonel Glover's regiment, of 
the Franklin. The Lynch carried six guns and 75 men, the Franklin 
four guns and 60 men, the crews of both vessels being drawn from 
Colonel Glover's regiment. The two vessels were ordered when 
ready to cruize in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and intercept two English 
transports bound for Quebec and expected about this time. 

The provisioning and arming of these vessels proceeded slowly, 
but by October 19 they were ready and Stephen INIoylan writes to 
General Joseph Reed: "Capt. Broughton and Capt. Selman will be 
ready to sail tomorrow. The latter is in want of a surgeon and we 
believe it will be difficult to prevail on the captain and crew to sail 
without one. Please send one." General Reed writes in reply: 
"Dr. Spofford agrees to go. Please fix on colors for a flag. What 
do you think of a flag with a white ground, a tree in the middle, 
with 'Appeal to Heaven.'" Dr. Spofford came as agreed, but they 
did not sail until the 24th, and then without the new colors. Their 
signal was ensign at main-toppinglift. On November 2, 1775, 
Captain Broughton writes from the White Head, four degrees west 
of Canso: "Have taken a ship with a cargo of provisions belonging 
to Enoch Rust of Boston and sent the vessel to New England." 
Although some ten prizes were taken by Captain Broughton, nothing 
was seen of the two transports and the Lynch and the Franklin 
returned to Beverly. 

W^ashington had not been pleased with the leisurely way in which 
the Lynch and the Franklin had been fitted out at Beverly and in 
a letter to Colonel ]\Ioylan questions Colonel Glover's management 
of the affair. On October 24 Moylan writes in reply: 

I sincerely believe Col. Glover has the cause at heart and has done 
his best in fitting out these four vessels. There is a reason and I 
think it is a substantial one why a person born in the same town or 



326 THE COLONL\L SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

neighborhood should not be employed in public affairs in that town. 
It is the spirit of equality which reigns throughout the country which 
makes him afraid of exerting his authority. He must shake every man 
by the hand and pray do, my brother, do, my friend, whereas a few 
hearty damns from a person who does not care a damn for them would 
have a much better effect. 

On the same day Colonel Moylan writes to Joseph Reed: 
Colonel Glover showed me a letter of yours which has mortified him 
much. I really and sincerely believe he has the cause much at heart 
and that he has done his best in fitting out these last four vessels for 
the public service. You cannot conceive the difficulty and delay there 
is in procuring the thousand things necessary for these vessels. I dare- 
say one of them might be fitted in Philadelphia or New York in three 
days, because you would know where to apply for the different articles 
but here you must search all over Salem, Marblehead, Danvers and 
Beverly for every thing that is wanted. I must add to these the jobbing 
carpenters who are the idlest scoundrels in nature. If I could have pro- 
cured others I should have dismissed the whole gang of them last 
Friday ; and such religious rascals are they that we could not prevail on 
them to work on the Sabbath. I have stuck very close to them crying 
shame and scolding them for their tory like disposition. 

Washington, an aristocrat by birth and a soldier by avocation, 
regarded with indignation the lawless acts of some of the early 
privateersmen and felt only contempt for their evident desire to 
imitate the showy externals rather than the discipline of the navy. 
On November 6, 1775, at his direction, Colonel Moylan writes a 
rather sarcastic letter in regard to Captain Martindale of the brig 
Washington, then fitting out at Plymouth: "The General is appre- 
hensive that Capt. ]\Iartindale will make the outfit of his brig too 
expensive. The intention of fitting out these cruisers is not to 
attack armed, but take unarmed, vessels. I don't see the use of a 
drum and fife but if it will give Capt. Martindale any pleasure he 
shall have them." Again in November he writes: "Our rascally 
privateersmen go on mutinously if they cannot do as they please. 
Those at Plymouth, Beverly and Portsmouth have done nothing 
w^orth mentioning in the way of prizes." Early in December he 
writes again: "The plague, trouble and vexation I have had with 
the crews of all the armed vessels are inexhaustible. The crews of 
the Washington and Harrison have actually deserted them." 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 327 

The schooner hired by Colonel Glover to take the place of the 
Hannah was named the Lee, and Captain John Manly of Marble- 
head was appointed her commander. Captain Manly was one of 
the few naval officers who seemed to suit Washington and he held 
during the whole war a deserved reputation for conduct and courage. 
Born at Torquay, England, in 1733, he settled in Marblehead when 
a 3'oung man and during the Revolutionary War commanded in 
rapid succession the schooners Lee and Hancock, the privateers 
Cumberland and Jason, and the frigate Hague. The good fortune 
of his early career did not continue and he was three times taken 
prisoner and confined in English prisons.^ On October 28, 1775, 
he sailed on his first cruize with a crew drawn from Colonel Glover's 
regiment. On November 30th Washington writes: "I hear good 
accounts of the schooner Lee, Capt. Manly, he has taken a large 
brigantine from London for Boston and sent her into Cape Ann. 
Capt. Adams in the Warren has taken a schooner laden with potatoes 
and turnips." 

The Franklin after her cruize under Captain Sellman had remained 
in Beverly harbor and Captain Samuel Tucker was appointed her 
commander. On February 9, 1776, he sailed from Beverly on a 
cruize in company with the Lee, Captain Waters, and in conjunction 
with the Defence and several other privateers was fortunate enough 
to take the transports George and Annahella. In his instructions to 
Captain Tucker, Washington had written: "Treat prisoners with 
kindness and humanity. Their private stock of money and clothes 
must be returned to them." It is to the credit of the officers of 
American privateers that these instructions, especially the first, 
have usually been observed; but privateering is rough business, 
and a disposition to make free with the property of prisoners has 
characterized the privateers of every nation. 

The officers and crews of the vessels commissioned by Washington 
received the same pay- as officers and privates in the army of the 
United Provinces and in addition one-third part of the value of 
every vessel and cargo taken, after condemnation in the Courts of 



1 John Manly died February 12, 1793: cf. Publications of this Society, 
V. 274 note. 

2 Captain's pay per month, £ 4; 1st lieutenant, £ 3; 2nd lieutenant, £ 2.10.0; 
surgeon, £ 2.10.0; master, £ 2.0.0; boatswain, £ 1.10.0; steward, £ 1.10.0. 



328 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Admiralty. If the vessel was armed, one-half, instead of one-third, 
was given as prize money. As afterwards construed this meant 
sufficiently armed to attempt resistance and not a mere technical 
armament. Of this prize money the captain received six shares, the 
1st lieutenant five shares, the 2nd lieutenant four shares, the master 
two shares, the master's mate one and a half shares, the gunner the 
same, and the mariners each one share. 

On December 20, 1775, Congress resolved that the seized vessels 
carried into Massachusetts should be proceeded against by the law 
of nations and libelled in the Courts of Admiralty of that state. 
Such courts had already been established, and on December 12, 
1775, Colonel Timothy Pickering writes: 

To the Hon. the Council of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. 

May it please your Honers, 

The Secretary has just informed me that your Honers have thought 
fit to appoint me Judge of a Court to try the justice of the captured 
vessels infesting the sea coast of America which shall be brought into 
the counties of Suffolk, Middlesex and Essex. Your Honers will please 
accept my thanks for the appointment. I am, may it please your 
Honers, 

Your most obedient servant, 

Tim. Pickering, Jr. 

The first sitting of the court was held March 16, 1776. 

About November 1, 1775, William Bartlett of Beverly was 
appointed first prize agent in Massachusetts for the United Colonies 
with instructions to libel all prizes in his jurisdiction and after legal 
condemnation sell them at auction and distribute the proceeds.^ 

^ In some cases there seems to have been actual distribution of the cargo 
instead of a sale at auction and division of the proceeds. The following deposi- 
tion is from the Nathan Dane Papers : 

" I James Fuller Lakeman of Lawful age do Testify, in the Summer of the j'ear 
One thousand, Seven hundred and eighty I went a Voj'age from Gloucester to 
Bilbao in a Ship called the Gloucester Packet, William Coy, commander. I acted 
as IMariner on board and in the passage from Bilbao we took a Prize. She was 
a British brig of more than a hundred Tons, Loaded with salt and I was put on 
board of her with the Prize Master and four Men to Bring her and we arrived 
safe at Gloucester in the month of July Where the said Cargo was Divided and 
I Received thirty Bushels of it for my share. I exchanged my Share of said Salt 
at two Bushels of corn for one bushel of Salt and Corn was then one dollar a 
Bushel, hard money." 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 329 

Mr. Bartlett entered on his duties with a high respect for the dignity 
of his office and considerable doubt as to what his duties were. As 
some Massachusetts privateers were probably cruizing without 
commissions and as courts had not yet been erected to try prizes 
regularly taken, he was naturally at a loss what to do and disposed 
to seek General Washington's advice. His letters to the General, 
and Washington's terse, caustic and somew^hat impatient replies are 
rather amusing. Mr. Bartlett 's first letter to Washington bears the 
date of November 4, 1775: 

Sir. 

Since I have had the honour of a commission under Your Excellency 
I have never had an opportunity before to return you my hearty thanks. 
I have the pleasure of informing Your Excellency that this morning at 
daylight there appeared two sloops at anchor under one of our islands 
called Misery. One of them came to sail and went on in a direct course 
for Boston. The other being very much torn to pieces in a gale of wind 
was unfit to proceed on her course. Two resolute people in a small boat 
went off and took her before we knew of it at this portion of the town. 
However, some of Capt. Brown's stationed men went down and brought 
her up in this harbor. My instructions are short in regard to such 
cases and I beg Your Excellency will give me particular instructions. 
The crew of the vessel consisted of Capt. Ritchie, his father, one white 
man, one mulatto and a negro. He refuses to give up his papers. 
Your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant, 

William Bartlett. 

Four days later Mr. Bartlett writes again to know what he shall 
do with a schooner from Ireland brought in by five Beverly men 
who put out from shore and seized her. Colonel Moylan replies 
for Washington: 

Sir. 

Your favor of the 8th to his Excellency came this morning. As the 
people on board object to j'our taking charge of the schooner and as 
ha\'ing anything to do with vessels brought in as the North Briton was 
will give you and the General trouble, it is his advice that you have 
nothing to do with them. Suppose you give the vessel to the Committee 
of Public Safety. In short get rid of her as best you can and let us 
hear nothing further thereon. 



330 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

There were a number of illegal seizures, by boats irom the shore, 
one of them, probably the earliest, by Hugh Hill, afterwards com- 
mander of the Beverly privateers Pilgrim and Cicero. 

To the Hon. the Council and House of Representatives of the Mass. 
State. 

The petition of Hugh Hill of Marblehead, Humbly Showeth that 
your Petitioner with a Number of his Fellow Townsmen, (Actuated and 
Inspired with the hope of Doing Good to the American Cause and In- 
juring their Enemies) did some time in the month of Oct. 1775 by force 
of arms attack, Subdue and Take a Small Schooner called the Industry, 
commanded by Francis Butler, Laden with Turtles, limes and from 
New Providence bound to Boston, (there being no Court of Admiralty 
Established) Communicated to the Committee of this town with the 
papers found in said vessel, Who forwarded them to the Hon. Council 
and in Consequence Received Directions to dispose of the cargo at 
Vendue and to dehver the Vessel to the order of Gen. Washington, 
which they complied with. As soon as the Courts of Admiralty were 
Opened, some of the Persons Concerned in the Capture of Said Vessel, 
Libelled her and Trial was then held. When the Jury for Want of 
Proper Evidence from some Mistaken Circumstance Cleared Vessel and 
Cargo and of Consequence Made Your Petitioners Liable to Costs. 

Your Petitioner therefor prays Your Honors will Take into consid- 
eration and Grant him an Indemnification from such costs and from 
such Damages as the Owners of the Vessel may attempt or recover 
against him and Your Petitioner as in duty bound will ever pray. 

Hugh Hill.^ 

A month later Colonel IMoylan writes ]\Ir. Bartlett in regard to 
the brigantine Hannah,'^ a vessel sent into Be^'erly by Captain 
Manly: "There are oranges, lemons and limes aboard which you had 
better sell imJnediateh^ The General will want some of these as 
well as the sweetmeats and pickles aboard as his lady will be here 



^ Massachusetts Archives, clxxx. 974. 

- The following advertisement appeared in a Boston paper of May 17, 1776: 
"To be sold by William Bartlett, Agent for the United Provinces, at public 
auction, the seventh day of May to be held in Beverly and to be continued from 
day to day until the whole is sold, the following vessels and cargo. Ship Concord, 
150 tons, Jinny, 350 tons, Polly, 80 tons, Brigan tines, Nancy, 250 tons, Hannah, 
250 tons; Sloops, Sally, 60 tons, Betty, 60 tons." These vessels were condemned 
at a court held at Ipswich by Judge Pickering March 18, 1776. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 331 

tomorrow. You will please pick up such things aboard as you think 
will be acceptable to her and send as soon as possible, but he wishes 
to pay for everything." Mr. Bartlett sent the General the fruit 
and other dainties he had asked for from the cargo of the Hannah, 
but they were not satisfactory, and on investigation it was found 
that the crew of the Lee, Captain Manly's schooner, had looted 
the best in the vessel. Colonel Moylan notified them that the 
value of what they had stolen would be deducted from then- prize 
money. 

Mr. Bartlett had been requested to bid in the Hannah, if she went 
low enough, and on INIay 27, 1776, General Artemas Ward writes 
to Washington: "I beg to inform you that your Agent at Beverly 
has purchased the brig Hannah at four hundred and twenty pounds. 
This day Capt. Bradford of Boston, having represented to me that 
he had an order from Robert Morris, Esq., one of the INIaritime 
Committee, to procure a good sailing vessel for the Continental 
service and that the brig would answer his service. Mr. Morris 
writes that the brig is wanted to go on a particulpvr service imme- 
diately." The particular service was to convey dispatches to our 
Commissioners in France, and the Hannah was taken into the 
Continental service, given letters of marque papers, loaded with 
a cargo of fish, renamed Despatch and placed under command of 
Stephen Cleveland of Salem. Captain Cleveland's instructions were 
to avoid all vessels at sea, make his way to Nantz or Bordeaux, 
sell his cargo, deliver his dispatches and bring back arms and ammu- 
nition. He was also to arm his vessel abroad and fit her for a 
privateer. Captain Cleveland, with William Herrick of Beverly as 
lieutenant or mate, sailed soon after. The sale of the Hannah was 
one of the last official acts of Mr. Bartlett, and on June 14, 1776, 
he was succeeded by Captain Bradford as Agent for the United 
Provinces. 

Besides the so-called privateers already mentioned the State of 
Massachusetts was building an armed fleet of its own and three of 
these vessels, the Tyrannicide building at Salisbury, and the Freedom 
and the Republic at Swansea, were constructed under the super- 
vision of a committee consisting of Josiah Batchelder, Jr., of Beverly 
and Richard Derby of Salem. Captain Batchelder from his practical 
knowledge of navigation was a very influential member of the 



332 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Massachusetts Legislature and much of the direction of naval affairs 
was put in his hands. Through his influence, on May 7, 1776, two 
18-pound cannon, left by the British when they evacuated Boston, 
were turned over to the town of Beverly to mount on their defences, 
and a month later, sixty 18- and twenty 9-pound cannon balls were 
sent them. 

The defences of Beverly harbor in 1776, besides the fort at Salem, 
consisted of a sand bag battery armed with two field pieces and 
other works on which were mounted two 18- and two 12-pound 
cannon. A committee of the General Court sent to view the sea- 
coast with reference to defensive works, recommended a seven gun 
battery at Thorndick's Point, a five gun battery at Barret's Point, 
and a three gun battery at West Beach. This elaborate system of 
fortification was too costly to be carried out, but batteries were 
erected at several of the places. 

These works were manned at first by a local coast guard and later 
by Continental and State troops. On June 28, 1776, a resolve was 
reported in the Provincial Congress to provide forces for the defence 
of the sea coast, each company to consist of 50 men under direction 
of the Committee of Correspondence of the town in which they were 
stationed.^ One company was stationed in Beverly. Besides the 
coast guard, Colonel Glover's regiment was ordered to Beverly and 
remained there until July 22, 1776. When the news reached Beverly 
that the regiment was ordered to New York, the selectmen petitioned : 

To the Hon. Council of the Colony of Mass. Bay in New England. 

Your petitioners have six miles of sea-coast offering good landing 
places and fair road-stead for vessels to lie, and on the most advan- 
tageous places have thrown up and erected breastworks and procured 
a number of cannon, and have had by benevolence of his Excellency, 
Gen. Washington the 14th regiment stationed in this town for some 
months, who have received orders to march soon, that is to say to- 
morrow. We petition therefore for 100 men to guard the seacoast. 

In response to this petition. Colonel Henry Herrick^ and his regi- 
ment were ordered to man the lines at Beverly. Why it should have 
been thought necessary to keep so many troops at the small town 

1 Journals of the Provincial Congress (1838), pp. 412-413. 

2 Henry Herrick, son of Henry and Joanna (Woodberry) Herrick, was born 
October 25, 1716, and died December 16, 1780. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 333 

of Beverly does not appear, and the Council evidently thought it 
uncalled for and on October 25, 1776, ordered Colonel Herrick to 
discharge officers and private soldiers of his regiment that by order 
of July 20th had been ordered into the lines at Beverly and dis- 
charged the selectmen of the town from furnishing them provisions. 
The town remained unguarded until November 14th, when the 
Council ordered that a company of 25 men, including one lieutenant, 
two sergeants and two corporals, be raised and stationed in the 
town until further notice. On November 21, 1776, the House re- 
quested the Council to give orders to Lieutenant Joseph Wood to 
take command of 25 men and ordered the selectmen to provide 
rations as had been done for ofhcers and men stationed there before, 
not exceeding five shillings a man per week. November 27th the 
Council ordered Lieutenant Joseph Wood^ to enlist 25 men, sergeants 
to receive forty-four, corporals forty, and privates thirty-six shillings 
a month. Lieutenant Wood was to receive three pounds twelve 
shillings a month. On December 12, 1777, the Council voted that 
hereafter at Beverly be stationed one lieutenant, one sergeant, one 
gunner, and eleven matrosses, the lieutenant to receive five pounds, 
the sergeant and gunner two pounds and the privates one pound and 
ten shillings, monthly. 

In the autumn of 1779 the Council commandeered one of the 18- 
pound guns in the batteries at Beverly, and in February, 1780, took 
two of the 9 pounders for their new State vessel, the Protector. On 
October 4, 1780, the coast guard at Beverly was reduced to one 
corporal and three matrosses, and this force was continued until the 
close of the war. 

So far as the writer can ascertain, there were but four cases in the 
Revolutionary War where British armed vessels came within range 
of the sea-port towns included in the Bay from Marblehead to Cape 
Ann. The first, August 9, 1775, when the boats of the Falcon were 
so roughly handled at Gloucester; the second, August 29th of the 
same year, when the prize ship Isaac was chased into Marblehead 
harbor and the fort opened fire on her pursuer, the Milford frigate; 



' Joseph Wood, son of Joseph and Ruth (Haskell) Wood, was town clerk of 
Beverly for thirty-seven years, selectman, assessor, representative, and member 
of the Committee of Public Safety and Correspondence. He died January 21, 
1808. 



334 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

the third, the affair of the Nautilus in Beverly harbor; and the 
fourth, when the privateer Starks was chased into Salem harbor by 
two frigates. 

II 

As early as November 1, 1775, an act was passed by the Massa- 
chusetts Legislature empowering the Council to commission with 
letters of marque and reprisal any person or persons within the 
colony, to fit out and equip at their own expense, for the defence 
of America, any vessel, and general authority to take all vessels of 
the enemy. The master of the private armed vessel was required 
to give bonds as principal with two good names as securities in order 
to satisfy any claim that might be made for illegal capture. The 
bond was $5,000 for vessels under 100 tons and S10,000 for vessels 
of 100 tons and over. Later it was found that deserters from the 
Continental army often enlisted on private armed vessels, and such 
vessels were put under bond not to take on board any soldier from 
the Continental army or any man not a citizen of Massachusetts. 
Bonds were also required that the crews of any vessel captured 
should be brought as prisoners into the State and not, as was often 
done, set free on some worthless prize to avoid expense. This was 
really in the interest of the privateersmen themselves and if faith- 
fully carried out would have saved many of them long confinement 
in English prisons, but prisoners were a dangerous freight to carry 
and the bond was often evaded, although English prisoners were 
needed in Massachusetts as material for exchange. It is from these 
bonds, necessarily signed by some of the owners, that much of our 
information about the vessels is obtained. 

The first private armed vessels commissioned under the authority 
of the State were privateers as distinguished from letters of marque. 
That is, they were empowered and used to cruize against the enemies 
of America, and not merely merchant vessels armed to resist aggres- 
sion and authorized to take prizes. A privateer was in most respects, 
except ownership, a close imitation of our state and national vessels, 
and its officers received the same titles as in the regular service. A 
letter of marque was a merchant vessel cleared for some port with 
a cargo, though she might sail in ballast, but armed to resist aggres- 
sion and authorized to take any of the enemy's vessels that came in 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 335 

her way. The officers received the same titles as were used in the 
merchant service. With the letter of marque the capture of prizes 
was incidental, with the privateer it was the business of the cruize. 
The letter of marque was usually lighter armed and carried a much 
smaller crew than a privateer of the same tonnage. 

The first private armed vessels sailing from Massachusetts in 1776 
were small craft taken from the merchant service and not especially 
adapted to the w^ork in which they w^ere engaged. Many were sloops, 
some were schooners, but the favorite rig was the brigantine. These 
carried a large spanker with a square, instead of a gaff, topsail on the 
main mast. They were armed with light cannon, old fashioned swivel 
guns, blunderbusses, and a few muskets and pikes. The cannon used 
were long guns, as distinguished from carronades, and so far as the 
writer can ascertain, with one exception, no carronades^ were used on 
American private armed vessels during the war. The uniform of the 
officers and men on IMassachusetts privateers was white and green, 
and the flag first carried was a green pine on a white ground. 

The rations allowed a privateer's crew were what the owner 
pleased, but as private armed vessels were obliged to compete for 
seamen with the State vessels, it is probable that the fare on the 
two did not materially differ. The allow^ance of provisions for each 
ofiicer and mariner as prescribed by the State October 12, 1776, was 
as follows : one pound of bread, one pound of beef or pork, one gill of 
rice and one gill of rum daily. Peas or beans to the amount of half 
a pint or a pound of potatoes or turnips might be substituted for 
the rice. Three-quarters of a pound of butter and one-half a pint 
of vinegar was allowed weekly. Division of prize money was usually 
made in the proportion of two parts to the owners and one to the 
officers and crew of the vessel, but there was no arbitrary rule. It 
is a disputed question whether the officers and crew of a privateer 
received wages in addition to their share of the prize money; they 
undoubtedly did receive wages on a letter of marque. 

1 In the New York Gazette of April 22, 17S0, is an advertisement offering 
12 and 13 pound carronades, imported direct from the Carron foundry, for use 
in privateers. "They can be discharged," says the advertisement, " every three 
minutes, which doubles the strength against an enemy of equal force. The car- 
ronade weighs one third as much as a long gun of the same cahbre and the 
powder charge is only one twelfth the weight of the ball." The long gun could 
be discharged once in six minutes. 



336 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

No privateer sailing from Beverly received a commission from the 
Massachusetts Council prior to September 4, 1776, but several were 
so commissioned in which Beverly capital was interested. The 
earliest of these was the Revenge, owned by Joseph Lee of Beverly 
and Miles Greenwood of Salem and commissioned May 14, 1776. 

The Revenge was a sloop of 90 tons burden, armed with twelve 
four- and six-pounders, and carrying a crew of 60 men. She was 
commanded in rapid succession by Joseph White, Benjamin Warren, 
Edward Gibaut, and Benjamin Dean, all of Salem. Her first two 
prizes, the ships Anna Maria and Polly, were among the first cases 
tried in our prize courts. On April 29, 1776, at the same term of 
court, Bartholemew Putnam and Andrew Cabot libelled the ship 
Lord Dartmore of 300 tons, seized and taken in Danvers between 
high and low water mark. A little later, August 9th, John Gardiner 
of Salem commissioned two schooners, the Gen. Gates and the 
Harlequin in which Andrew Cabot of Beverly was interested. One 
of them, the Harlequin, under the name Sally, had been employed 
by Mr. Cabot in the Spanish trade. 

The first privateer owned in and sailing from Beverly was the 
brigantine Retaliation owned by Josiah Batchelder, Jr., and others 
of Beverly. She was of 70 tons burden, carried ten two- and four- 
pound guns, nine swivels, and 70 men. Her commander, Eleazer 
Giles of Beverly,-^ was commissioned September 4, 1776. The 
petition for the commission, dated September 2, 1776, states that 
the Retaliation has on board 50 barrels of beef and pork, 4000 pounds 
of bread, 500 pounds of powder, 25 muskets, 30 cutlasses, and 10 
lances. While the Retaliation was fitting out in Beverly, Josiah 
Batchelder, Jr., had petitioned the General Court for an order on 
Samuel Phillips at his mill in Andover for 500 pounds of powder at 
five shillings a pound. A lack of powder was one of the perplexities 
of the new Republic and on January 6, 1776, the Massachusetts 
Council, in order to encourage its manufacture in the Colony, agreed 
to furnish Samuel Phillips at his m.ill in Andover sulphur and salt- 



^ Eleazar Giles was born in Danvers, but renaoved to Beverly; commanded 
several privateers during the war and lost his leg in action on board the (Sara- 
toga; died in Liverpool, England. 

As a rule the names of only the commanders or captains of vessels are mentioned 
in the text. For the names of other officers, see section viii, pp. 405-424, below. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 337 

petre at cost and give him a bonus of eight pence a pound on all 
powder manufactured. In order to obtain powder it was necessary 
to petition the General Court, which fixed the price and did not 
always allow the quantity asked for. 

Captain Giles on his first cruize headed for the West Indies and 
was lucky enough to fall in with the Jamaica fleet and take four 
rich prizes, the brigantine Hiram and the ships Success, St. Lucie, 
and Alfred} The largest ship, the St. Lucie of 350 tons, carried 
500 hogsheads of sugar and 20 puncheons of rum, and the wharves 
of the Beverly merchants once more presented a busy spectacle. 

Other privateers were equally successful, and so much sugar was 
brought into the State that on January 3, 1777, the General Court 
granted permission for vessels to export sugar to the amount of 
twelve hogsheads for every 100 tons the vessel registered. The 
people began to feel need of food rather than sugar and rum. 

The Retaliation, as a letter of marque, sailed for Charleston with 
a full cargo of sugar, bringing back rice and naval stores. Some 
time in the autumn of 1777 the Retaliation was taken by an English 
vessel and carried into Halifax. Eleazer Giles was the first Beverly 
captain taken prisoner, but he did not remain long in confinement, and 
in April or May of the following year returned to Beverly in the cartel 
Industry. We shall hear of him again in connection with other vessels. 

In the history of Beverly privateers no name occurs so frequently 
as that of Andrew Cabot, but in 1776 he seemed to confine his 
investments to vessels sailing from other ports. Besides those 
already mentioned he was part owner in the Sturdy Beggar, Rover 
and Rep-isal. 

The Sturdy Beggar was a schooner of 90 tons, carrying 6 guns and 
20 men, owned by Mr. Cabot's friend, Elias H. Derby of Salem. 
Her first captain was Peter Landen of Salem, followed in a few 
weeks by the celebrated Allen Hallet, later by Edward Rowland. 
On February 24, 1777, the Sturdy Beggar, Captain Rowland, is 
reported taken by an English vessel, and in June the crew were 
committed to Mill Prison. A few years later another Sturdy Beggar, 
this time a brigantine, under Philip Lefavour of Marblehead, was 
sailing from Salem in which there is reason to suppose Mr, Cabot 

^ George Child, an Englishman, on the St. Lucie, from Jamaica for Bristol, 
had a private adventure on board which Capt. Giles generously restored to him. 



338 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

was also interested. The second Sturdy Beggar was reported wrecked 
on the coast of France. 

The Rover, owned by John Derby, Andrew Cabot and others, was 
a sloop of 60 tons, armed with eight carriage and ten swivel guns 
and two cohorns. Her first captain was Simon Forrester, also a 
part owner, and her early cruizes were very successful. The New 
York Mercury of October 22, 1776, reports that the sloop Rover, 
Captain Forrester, during a calm, by the aid of sweeps overtook 
and captured the English ship Mary and James from Falmouth, 
England. She was a rich prize and her captain on his arrival at 
New York complained bitterly of the treatment he had received on 
board the Rover. "Worse than pirates" he calls his captors. The 
Mary and James, 129 tons, the brigantine Good Intent, 100 tons, and 
the Sarah Ann, 100 tons, prizes to the Rover, were all libelled 
October 24, 1776.i 

On September 20, 1776, Job Prince and Samuel White of Boston, 
agents for themselves and Jacob Fowler, Andrew Cabot, John Coffin 
Jones and Benjamin Hichbourne, owners of the brigantine Reprisal 
of 70 tons and 8 guns, petition that John Wheelwright be appointed 
commander of said vessel. How large an interest Mr. Cabot had 
in the Reprisal is not stated. 

The second privateer owned in and sailing from Beverly was the 
brigantine Washington of 90 tons, carrying 12 six and four-pound 
cannon and a crew of 80 men.^ She was owned by John Dyson,^ 
Thomas Davis and others of Beverly, and commanded by Elias 
Smith. Elias Smith, though a resident of Beverly, was a native of 
Virginia, possessing all that courtesy of manner, carelessness of dress 
and fiery pugnacity which characterized the men of the Old Dominion. 
"Are you the Captain of this vessel?" was the rather contemptuous 
inquiry of the commander of a conquered ship, come aboard to sur- 
render his sword. "In default of a better," replied Captain Smith, 
drawing himself up to his full height — he was only five feet tall — 

1 The Rover, Capt. Adam Wellman of Beverly, was captured in 1780. 

2 The Beverly Historical Society owns a printed handbill reading: "Now 
fitting for a Privateer, In the harbor of Beverly, the Brigantine Washington. 
A strong, good vessel for that purpose and a prime sailer. Any Seaman or 
Landsman that has an inclination to make their Fortunes in a few months may 
have an opportunity by applying to John Dyson. Beverly, Sept. 7, 1776." 

» John Dyson (1742-1828) was born in England. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 339 

and bowing low. The story is told that after the war a relation of 
his who felt himself insulted asked his advice as to fighting a duel. 
"Fight him!" said the old veteran, "Fight him! Fight him!" 

Captain Smith sailed from Beverly soon after he was commissioned, 
to join the fleet under Captain Manly. These cruizes with Captain 
INIanly were quite a feature during the first two years of the war, 
and were not very popular with the owners and officers of private 
armed vessels. The idea was that five or six vessels could cover a 
large extent of water and still be within supporting distance of each 
other and take more prizes proportionally than when cruizing singly. 
Under the articles of agreement, however, the privateer became a 
sort of contract vessel and for a specified time passed out of the 
control of her owner. The officers, too, of these privateers by no 
means relished being under the orders of a man whom they refused 
to consider as their superior, and much complaint and bickering 
ensued. The articles of agreement between the State and the owners 
of the WasJiington are a t}^e of all these contracts: 

Articles of Agreement between the Council of the Great and General 
Court and Thomas Davis and John Dyson of Beverly, Merchants, 
owners of the Washiiigton brigantine, a privateer vessel of war bound 
for cruise of 25 days in company with a fleet of Continental vessels 
and other ships under Capt. Manly's command. That in case of 
accident the State agrees to insure the vessel to the full amount of 
her cost against all dangers of sea and English ships while under Capt. 
Manly's command. All ammunition expended to be made good by the 
State. Any prize taken by the fleet to be divided equally among the 
whole fleet even if one by accident be absent. O^vaiers of the Washington 
to give bonds to the amount of 6000 pounds that they will keep this 
agreement and obey Capt. Manly's orders.^ 

After his cruize with Captain Manly, Captain Smith returned to 
Beverly and then cruized on his own account, sending in eight prizes. 
The Washington was reported taken by the Levant in 1777. 

The only other privateer sailing from Beverly in 1776 was the 
schooner Warren. She was owned by Josiah Batchelder, Eleazer 
Giles and others of Beverly and commanded by Israel Thorndike, 
who remained in command until the next spring, when he was 



^ Massachusetts Archives, ccxv. 442. 



340 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

succeeded by Nicholas Ogleeby. Captain Ogleeby made two cruizes 
in the Warren, and was succeeded by John Ravell of Salem. 

Soon after sailing, December 27, 1777, Captain Ravell fell in with 
the English letter of marque Tom, Captain John Lee, mounting 26 
six-pounders, and after a spirited defence of three hours was obliged 
to surrender. As the Warren carried only five guns and ten swivels 
she was, of course, no match for her powerful adversary. The Tom 
received little damage, but the Warren had lost her mainmast and 
was so much cut up that Captain Lee did not consider her worth 
taking in but threw her guns and ammunition overboard and left 
her to her own crew. The Warren lost one man killed and two 
wounded. For nine days Captain Ravell and his men worked hard 
to repair damages and had made some progress, but on February 6th 
were again captured by the English ship Fanny, from New York for 
Liverpool, and were carried to that city and confined in ]\Iill Prison. 

Some time in the spring of 1776 Robert Haskell^ of Beverly obtained 
permission from the Council to sail from Nova Scotia in his fishing 
schooner, the Dove, wdth a crew of four men, taking with him as 
cargo one barrel of pork, 200 pounds of bread, sixteen gallons of 
molasses, tw^o bushels of salt, and a half bushel of beans. The trade 
wdth Nova Scotia which went on throughout the war will be con- 
sidered at length in another section, but this permission, like others, 
was really a blind to cover a secret expedition in search of infor- 
mation. Haskell had removed with his family to Nova Scotia in 
1762, but returned to Beverly in 1774 to resume his fishing bus- 
iness. He easily obtained information without exciting suspicion 
and returned home having fully accomplished his purpose. 

On July 2, 1776 the Council requested Josiah Batchelder, Jr., of 
Beverly to obtain for them a small vessel to be used as a spy vessel 
and a suitable man to command it. Captain Batchelder once more 
sought out Robert Haskell, and on July 13th sent him with the 
following letter to the Council: 

To the Hon. Council of the Colony of Mass. Bay. 

These to acquaint you that I have hired and fitted out a small vessel 
for the purpose of obtaining information of the motions of the fleet and 
armies of our enemies. 



^ Robert Haskell, son of William and Mary (Lovett) Haskell, was born 
April 2, 1736, and died June 17, 1789. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 341 

Capt. Haskell who will remit you this letter is to be intrusted with 
the business. It is needless to recommend him as he has made one 
voyage already in your employ and he now awaits your orders. 

N.B. I have found it very difficult to find a suitable vessel. 

Captain Batchelder finally found two vessels in Beverly, one of them 
the Dove, which answered his purpose, and for some months Captain 
Haskell remained in the secret service of the State. 

On October 15, 1776, the General Court resolved that a Naval 
Officer be appointed for each port, to take manifests under oath of 
all cargoes imported and exported, give bills of health, and sign 
permissions to go to sea. On November 21, 1776, Warwick Palfrey 
of Salem was appointed Naval Officer of the port of Salem, which 
of course included Beverly. 

in 

The year 1777 opened gloomily for the young Republic. "Food 
is getting scarce and money scarcer/' writes George Williams to 
Colonel Pickering. The fishing industry, the basis of all exports 
from New England, was ruined and the sole hope of the seaport 
towns lay in privateering. The first vessel, owned in Beverly, 
commissioned in 1777, was the True American of 90 tons, carrying 
10 four-pound guns and a crew of 70 men. She was owned by 
Andrew Cabot and on April 29, 1777, John Buffinton of Salem was 
commissioned commander. It may seem strange that a Beverly 
merchant should go outside his own town to officer his vessel, but 
Captain Buffinton and Andrew Cabot had long been associated in 
the Spanish trade and the captain of a privateer was usually allow^ed 
to pick his own officers. IMoreover this was not the True Americanos 
first cruize. She had sailed from Salem the previous year under 
Captain Daniel Hathorne, later under Captain William Carleton, on 
petition of Benjamin Goodhue and others, though it is probable that 
Andrew Cabot held an interest in her from the first. On her first 
cruize under Captain Hathorne, the True American sent in two 
prizes, the brigantine Anny and the Unity, but in an attack on an 
English packet was roughh" handled and beaten off with the loss of 
three men killed and ten wounded. Captain Hathorne was wounded 
and gave up the vessel to Captain Carleton. 



342 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Under Captain BufEnton, the True American made her first cruize 
with Captain Manly, and on her return, with a crew of 25 men 
sailed as a letter of marque for Bilbao. This port was the Mecca at 
which, sooner or later, all American privateers cruizing in European 
waters finally arrived. Captain Lee of the Hawk, on his arrival at 
Salem in the autumn of 1776, reported 18 American privateers in 
that port when he left. Business relations between the merchants 
of Massachusetts and Bilbao had been close before the war, and now 
it was the most convenient port in which to sell their prizes and 
refit. It was also a place where most owners had an agent from 
whom money could be obtained on account, and a visit to Bilbao 
meant a chance for a spree. 

The Spaniards did not look with approval on the wild privateers- 
men as they marched singing thi'ough the narrow streets or caroused 
in the wine shops, but if they did not love the Americans, they liked 
their money and contented themselves with silent cursing. 

The True American was consigned to Joseph Gardoqui & Sons, 
Bilbao, and Captain Ruffinton was directed to cruize awhile in the 
Bay of Biscay and take a prize or two if possible. While in Bilbao 
the rig of the True American was changed from that of a schooner 
to a brig. The next year the True American, still under Captain 
Buffinton, made another voyage to Bilbao, and on her return passed 
into other hands. 

On April 26, 1777, some of the merchants of Boston, knowing the 
condition of the State treasury, started a fund to be lent to the 
State to build and fit out two cruizers to protect the coast, and to 
this fund Andrew Cabot of Beverly subscribed £1000. 

One of the most successful privateers sailing from Beverly during 
the war was the Oliver Cromwell As first commissioned, she was a 
brigantine of 162 tons, carrying 16 guns and 120 men. Her owners 
were George, John and Andrew Cabot, Joseph Lee and others. On 
her first cruize she was commanded by Captain William Cole and 
was very successful, sending in eleven prizes. The following extracts 
from her log show how some of them were taken: 

July 30th 1777, Fah, raw, cold, wind rough and sea. Sent our boat 
aboard the prize. Took out Mr. Dyer and one of the band and sent 
Mr. French to take command and carry her into Bilbao 




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1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 343 

July 31st Fair, pleasant weather. At 3^ past 3, A.M. saw the sail 
again and gave chase. At 4 gave her a gun and brought her to. She 
was a small sloop called the Three Sisters, about 60 tons loaded with 
butter and sheep guts. Sent her into Bilboa. 

Aug. 2nd, Fair, light breeze and smooth sea. Early A.M. saw a sail 
and judged her to be Capt. Lee of Marblehead, privateer brig,^ fired 
two guns to leeward in token of friendship. At 10 sent a small boat 
on board to bring him on board to dinner. He came on board us accord- 
ingly and informs us he has taken nine prizes, some of which were 
retaken, and some in ballast which he gave up to his prisoners and 
four he had sent home, laden with bale goods and provisions. Agreed 
to keep us company and cruise in concert several days. 

Aug. 6th at 3 P.M. saw two brigs. Everything being prepared for 
battle we advanced. One of them began to fire but we took no notice 
until near when we gave her two broadsides. Finally she struck. We 
then bore up for the other brig and kept up an incessant fire for three 
glasses. She returned our fire for some time and then wore off. The 
other during engagement kept up a fire on us with her bow chasers. 
Now we began to think of the man of war which had been in chase of 
us all day, then we judged it best to give up the assault for the night. 
The engagement lasted three glasses in which Capt. Cole and all the 
officers behaved with great courage. The first Lieutenant was wounded 
in both thighs, one or two other men slightly wounded, none killed. 
Our brig received several shots in the hull and rigging. 

The next year, 1778, Thomas Simmons of Salem was commissioned 
commander and she continued to send in prizes. While under 
Captain Simmons her rig was changed to that of a ship. On 
August 11, 1779, James Barr was commissioned commander and 
still she was successful. On her return to Salem September 30, 
1780, however, she came in minus her main and mizzen mast which 
she had lost in a severe hurricane, and on January 15, 1781, her 
agent, Edward Allen, advertises the Oliver Cromwell for sale, " Stores, 
guns and provisions." She was purchased by J. & A. Cabot, William 
Bartlett, Nathan Leach and others of Beverly, refitted and placed 



^ The privateer schooner Hawk of Marblehead. On her arrival at Bilbao she 
was complained of as an illegal privateer. The prime minister of Spain, the 
Marquis of Grimaldi, decided that the Hawk was within her rights and ordered 
that American vessels, privateer or merchant, should be treated like any 
neutrals. 



3i4 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

under the command of John Bray of Marblehead. On the back of 
the petition for Captain Bray's commission at the State Archives 
is v.fitten: "John Bray, Commander of the within named ship is 
41 years of age, 5 feet, 8 inches in stature, and dark complexioned. 
Thomas Brown, 1st Lieutenant, 34 years of age, 5 feet, 2 inches in 
stature and dark complexioned." Under Captain Bray the wonder- 
ful luck of the Oliver Cromwell no longer continued, and in August, 
1781, while "dogging" the Quebec fleet she was taken by an English 
frigate and carried into Newfoundland. 

On petition of George Cabot and others, July 5, 1777, Benjamin 
Warren was commissioned commander of the brigantine Hami^den 
of 120 tons, 14 four-pound guns and 120 men. She was largely 
owned in Salem and was fairly successful. 

The last privateer commissioned from Beverly in 1777 was the 
schooner Scorpion of 50 tons, carrying 14 swivel and 2 carriage guns 
and a crew of 40 men. On petition of Joseph White and IMiles 
Greenwood, Israel Thorndike was commissioned commander. The 
Scorpion was owned by Josiah Batchelder, Jr., Israel Thorndike and 
others, and was later commanded by Benjamin Niles, Perry Rowland, 
and Benjamin Ives. 

The year 1777 had been a fairly good one for the owners of Beverly 
privateers and those having money were prepared to make further 
ventures. The private armed vessels in 1776-1777 were necessarily 
merchant craft, by no means fitted for the business in which they 
were engaged, but as these were either taken or discarded, a larger 
and faster type took their place. The first Beverly privateer com- 
missioned in 1778 was the Terrible Creature, owned by George and 
Andrew Cabot and others. She was a heavily armed vessel of 
unknown tonnage, carrying 16 six-pounders and a crew of 100 men. 
She was not a new vessel and had probably sailed under another 
name. Some say she was the Oliver Cromwell rechristened, but this 
does not seem possible. Her first commission does not appear in 
the State Archives, but we know from other sources that she made 
at least one voyage to Bilbao before March 9, 1778, the date of her 
commission at the State House. Nathaniel West of Salem was at 
Bilbao when the Terrible Creature touched there and returned on 
her as a passenger to Salem. On April 4, 1778, forty-two of the 
officers and crew signed the following order: "The undersigned. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 345 

going on a cruize against the enemies of their State in the privateer 
Terrible Creature, Robert Richardson, Commander, do hereby appoint 
Simon Forrester and Isaac White jointly and severally our Agents." 
The names of the 43 are given, and the only ones indicating a Beverly 
origin are John Picket, Charles Corning, Isaac Trask and William 
Homans. As the crew numbered 100 men, however, it is probable 
that those from Beverly preferred an agent in their own town. On 
her second cruize, March 9, 1778, the commander of the Terrible 
Creature was Robert Richardson of Beverly. On her third cruize 
under Captain West she was fortunate enough to strike a fleet of 
English merchant vessels soon after leaving Salem and took so many 
that she was obliged to return immediately to Salem to ship new 
men. 

On April 20th of the same year a still more formidable vessel, but 
with a more pacific name, was put in commission by Beverly owners. 
This was the brigantine Franklin of 200 tons, carrying 18 six- 
pounders, and. a crew of 100 men. She was owned by J. & A. Cabot 
of Beverly and Bartholomew Putnam of Salem. Her first captain 
was Thomas Connolly, followed the same autumn by John Leach, 
with Jacob Oliver, a Beverly man, as lieutenant. Captain Leach 
sailed from Salem November 4th and on the 17th took a snow with 
300 quintals of fish. Four days later he engaged a brig mounting 
16 guns, from England for Antigua, laden with dry goods, and 
captured her after a few broadsides. On the 25th he took another 
brig, and during the cruize sent in several other prizes. 

In 1779 the Franklin was commanded by the famous Joseph 
Robinson of Salem, and while under his command her rig was 
changed from that of a brigantine to a ship. Lender Captain Robinson, 
the Franklin cruized with varying success in the West Indies, and 
when, on March 24, 1780, he was promoted to the Pilgrim, John 
Turner of Marblehead took his place. The next year Allen Hallet 
of Boston, a man who held more public and private naval positions 
during the war than any other mariner in Massachusetts, was com- 
missioned commander. On the back of Allen Hallet's petition is 
indorsed, ''John Allen Hallet, master of the within ship, is 37 years 
of age, 6 feet, 6 inches tall and of dark complexion. Silas Devol, 
1st Lieutenant, is 6 feet tall, 40 years of age and dark." On December 
24, 1781, Captain Hallet for some reason left the Franklin, and Silas 



346 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Devol took his place. In 1782, the Franklin, Captain Devol, cruiz- 
ing in the West Indies, joined with several Beverly and Salem vessels 
in an expedition against Tortola. The vessels associated with the 
Franklin were the Porus, Captain Carnes; the Juniiis Brutus, Cap- 
tain Brooks; the Pilgrim, Captain Robinson; the Mohock, Captain 
Smith; and the Fair American. It was intended to surprise Tortola, 
but the inhabitants were forewarned and the expedition was a 
failure. The only prize was the former Salem privateer, Maccaroni, 
which had recently been captured by an English vessel. A little 
later the Franklin was taken by the English frigates, Amphitrite 
and Assurance. 

Although large and heavily armed vessels were necessary to 
encounter and capture the equally heavily armed English letter of 
marque ships, there was also a profitable field for vessels of small 
tonnage and light armament. Probably more than half the prizes 
taken by our American privateers were recaptured by the English, 
a small prize crew put aboard and the vessel ordered to some English 
port. These vessels and the lighter armed British merchant vessels 
could be taken by a privateer of very slight force. Such a privateer 
was the little sloop Fly, owned by Benjamin Lovett^ and Andrew 
Cabot of Beverly. She was only 50 tons burthen, armed with 4 
carriage and 8 swivel guns, and carrying a crew of 40 men. August 
29th, 1778, John Marsh was commissioned commander with Ezra 
Ober as 1st lieutenant, both Beverly men. 

Another vessel of this class at one time owned In Beverly, though 
no record of it appears in the State Archives, was the schooner 
Centipede. For three years at least, perhaps longer, she sent in prize 
after prize and, run as she was at small exj^ense, must have been 
immensely profitable to her owners. She was 45 tons burthen, 
carrying 16 swivel guns and 35 men. Her first commission was 
issued December 23, 1777, when on petition of Ellas H. Derby, 
Joseph White and Miles Greenwood, William Langdon of Salem 
was commissioned as captain and the vessel called Cent. Peid. In 
her bond, however, given some days before, she Is called Santape. 
On May 14, 1778, she libelled the prize schooner Betty under the 
name of Ce?iti Pea. She was commissioned again in 1778 and this 

1 Benjamin Leyett (1756-1804), son of Benjamin and Hannah (Kilham) 
Lovett. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 347 

time she was called Cent. Pede, changed on her bond to Ce7it Pea, 
and on her libel against the schooner Bickford to Saint te Pee. 
August 12, 1779, Joseph Pratt was commissioned commander of the 
armed cruizer Centipie and August 12, 1779, Gideon Ilenfield libels 
several prizes sent in by schooner Centipede.^ In 1778 this vessel 
of many names was owned by Josiah Batchelder of Beverly, Liver- 
more Whittredge being agent. 

Some time in the autumn of 1777 a number of Beverly and Salem 
gentlemen gave an order to William Swett of Salisbury to build them 
a ship intended to be the largest, fastest, and most heavily armed 
privateer ever launched from our Massachusetts ship yards. The 
name given her was the Black Prince, a rather unusual choice at a 
time when most American privateers were named after famous 
republicans, local or Roman, and one that rabid patriots must have 
cavilled at. She was ship rigged, measured 220 tons, carried 18 guns 
and a crew of 130 men and was commissioned June 17, 1778, with 
Elias Smith of Beverly as commander. No other privateer sailed 
from Salem during the war in which so many Beverly men were 
interested. George Cabot, J. & A. Cabot, Moses Brown, Israel 
Thorndike, Larkin Thorndike,^ John Lovett, Josiah Batchelder, Jr., 
and Benjamin Lovett all held shares. Under Captain Smith she was 
fairly successful, sending in a number of prizes, but on October 19, 
1778, Captain Smith was succeeded by Nathaniel West of Salem, 
and from that time, though not through an}^ fault of her captain, 
her luck changed. 

On June 30, 1779, the Black Prince, Captain West, had just 
returned from a long and unsuccessful voyage and was preparing in 
Salem harbor for a raid on the Quebec fleet, due the following month. 
The State, about to engage in the Penobscot expedition, sent George 
Williams and Jonathan Peele to Salem with a request, almost a 
command, that the Black Prince join the fleet they were forming. 
The owners, against their better judgment, yielded and June 19, 
1778, the Black Prince, Captain West, joined the fleet at Boothbay 



1 From December 25, 1777, to April 29, 1780, she bore the following names: 
Cent Pied, Santape, Cent. Pede, Cent. Pea, Cent, a Pede, Santipe, Sentipe, Cent. 
Peid, Centipede, Centi Pea, Saint te Pie, Centipie. 

2 Larkin Thorndike (1730-1786) was captain of the minnte-men who marched 
to Concord in 1775. 



348 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

and took part in the unfortunate expedition. The Black Prince 
shared the fate of the other American privateers, but her crew 
escaped to shore. The Black Prince was insured by the State to 
the amount of £100,000 and after some years' delay her owners 
were paid, principal and interest. John Lovett received £272, 
George Cabot £224, Benjamin Lovett £464, the other Beverly 
owners received compensation in another way. 

Two privateers in which Beverly gentlemen were largely interested, 
the Black Prince and the Defence, were in the unfortunate Penobscot 
expedition. The latter, a brig of 170 tons, armed with 16 six-pounders 
and carrying a crew of 100 men, was owned by Andrew Cabot and 
Moses Brown and commanded by Captain John Edmonds of Beverly. 
Both were run on shore and destroyed when the British fleet entered 
Penobscot harbor. Some of the Beverly merchants obtained or 
tried to obtain advances from the State prior to the general settle- 
ment, and on September 22, 1782, Larkin Thorndike of Beverly, 
"Part owner of the Black Prince and Defence, having met with 
misfortunes at sea which has reduced him of almost his whole trad- 
ing stock exclusive of what he has loaned to the Government, 
having bought the forfeited estate of John Landell Borland, Esq. 
begs that you will loan him part of the money due from the State, 
which is 600 pounds, lawful money." The estate bought by Larkin 
Thorndike was a tract of land situated in Danvers, Topsfield and 
Middleton, and the State allowed him £400. Andrew Cabot tried 
much the same plan. The State owed for the Defence £105,000. 
Mr. Cabot bought from the State the forfeited real estate of Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Oliver at Lechmere's Point, Cambridge, and gave 
his note for the same. When the note came due he offered to give 
the State credit for the £94,000 he had paid for the property on the 
sum due him for the Defence, but the State refused. He finally 
received £4245 for his half of the Defence. September 20, 1779, 
Brown and Thorndike petitioned the Council : 

To the Honorable, the Council of the State of Massachusetts Bay. 

Whereas your petitioners, part owoiers of the armed ship Black Prince 
and armed brigantine Defence, did agree to fit out said ship and brigan- 
tine for the expedition against Penobscot and had the misfortune to 
have them destroyed while in the service of the State, which misfortune 
has deprived them of by far the greatest part of their interest and 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 349 

renders them unable to carry on their business in navigation unless 
their contract with the Board of War be carried out. Therefore, your 
petitioners pray that they be furnished with 32 six pound cannon be- 
longing to the State to enable them to cruise against the enemies of 
the United States. 

Of all the privateers sailing from Beverly during the war, the 
Pilgrim was the most famous and probably the most successful. 
She was very fortunate in her commanders and is said to have been 
built for her owner, Mr. Cabot,^ at Newburyport under supervision 
of her first captain, Hugh Hill. She was ship rigged, measured 
200 tons and carried 16 nine-pounders and a crew of 140 men. On 
September 12, 1778, Hugh Hill of Beverly was commissioned com- 
mander. Hugh Hill, the man chosen to command the finest privateer 
sailing from Beverly, was the beau ideal of a privateer captain.^ Born 
at Carrickfergus, Ireland, in 1741 he had come to this country when 
a young man, settling in Marblehead. He was of good family, a 
cousin of Andrew Jackson, the future president of the United States, 
and an enthusiast in the cause of American liberty. Of immense 
size, muscular beyond the common, courageous almost to rashness, 
courteous to the fair sex and not burdened with scruples, he had 
all the characteristics which might have made him a famous captain 
in the days of Drake. The story is told of him that on one occasion 
while at L'Orient, France, a French gentleman in a cabaret felt 
himself insulted by some word or action of the reckless privateers- 
man. "I will send my seconds to you in the morning," said the 
Frenchman. "What is the matter with here and now?" said Hugh 
Hill, drawing two pistols from his belt and offering one to the 
Frenchman. There was no duel. 

Hugh Hill remained in command of the Pilgrim until March 24, 
1780, and during that time sent into Beverly as prizes the ships 
Francesco di Paula of 250 tons, the Anna and Eliza of 120 tons, the 
bark Success of 120 tons, the brigantine Neustra Senora de Merced, 
of 120 tons, the Hopewell of 115 tons, the Three Brothers of 130 tons, 
the Pallas of 100 tons, the Gold Wire of 130 tons, the snow Diana 

' The Pilgrim was owned by John and Andrew Cabot, Joseph Lee, George 
Cabot, Moses Brown, Samuel Cabot, Francis Cabot, Jonathan Jackson, Joshua 
Wood, and Stephen Cleveland. Andrew Cabot owned a little less than one- 
haK in 1780. Salem gentlemen owned 16/96ths. (Nathan Dane Papers.) 

"^ A portrait of Hugh Hill faces p. 320, above. 



350 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

of 160 tons, the Brandywine and Lord Sandwich. These were vessels 
which reached Beverly; more than double the number were sent into 
foreign ports, or retaken. One of these prizes, the Francesco di Paula, 
was the cause of long litigation and came near causing international 
complications with Spain. The case was one, common in war time, 
of an English-owned ship named Valenciano, rechristened Francesco 
di Paula and put under Spanish colors. Joachi di Luca was her 
nominal and Peter White her real captain. The Francesco was con- 
demned in our State courts but the case was appealed to Congress, 
where the fear of offending Spain kept the case undecided for a long 
time. Finally the ship was condemned and the cargo returned to 
its owners. 

^Vhile in command of the Pilgrim, Captain Hill had several sharp 
encounters with English vessels. March 14, 1779, the Pilgrim 
engaged the letter of marque brig Success, Captain Nixon, of 12 
guns and 30 men. The Success was, of course, no match for the 
Pilgrim, but she put up a stiff fight and did not surrender until 
most of her officers were killed or wounded. After the battle, 
Captain Hill cruized on the Irish coast, taking several prizes, and 
then ran into Sligo Bay and set free all his prisoners. He had taken 
eight prizes in six weeks. 

On March 24, 1780, Captain Hill resigned command of the Pilgrim 
and was succeeded by Joseph Robinson of Salem. Captain Robinson, 
like Hugh Hill, was a man of imposing presence, a good sailor and a 
good fighter. Under him the Pilgrim was as successful as under her 
first commander, and up to October 12, 1782, had sent into Beverly 
twelve prizes besides numerous others sent into France, Spain, and 
Martinique. One of the prizes sent in in 1782 was the frigate built, 
copper bottomed ship Mars carrying 8 eighteen and 16 nine-pound 
guns and a crew of 84 men. The Mars was taken after a sharp 
battle lasting three hours in which the English vessel lost her 
captain and seven others killed and eighteen wounded. 

One of the best contested privateer engagements of the war was 
the encounter between the Pilgrim and the English ship Mary. On 
January 5, 1781, when cruizing in the West Indies, Captain Robinson 
sighted a large ship and gave chase. The Pilgrim gained on the 
stranger, which made no effort either to seek or avoid an encounter. 
Captain Robinson, uncertain as to her real force, set English colors 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 351 

and by half-past four was within hailing distance of her starboard 
quarter. The usual questions were asked and answered, the strange 
vessel reporting herself as the letter of marque ship Mary, Captain 
Stoward, while the Pilgrim gave her name as the Success, Captain 
Robinson, from Barbados. Captain Robinson then set American 
colors and fired the first broadside. This was immediately answered 
by the Mary, and the two ships lay yard arm to yard arm, exchang- 
ing broadsides and plying each other with musketry. Unfortunately 
for the Mary, her captain early in the action received a musket ball 
in the shoulder; but still keeping his feet he encouraged his crew to 
renew^ed exertions, until, struck by a piece of langrage in the head, 
he fell to the deck mortally wounded. Captain Stoward lived but 
a few moments, and his last words to the mate bade him keep up 
the fight. This the mate did until midnight, but while the broad- 
sides of the two vessels were almost equally effective, the musketry 
fire from the Pilgrim was the more accurate and deadly. Finally 
the Mary, with several of her guns dismounted, three feet of water 
in her hold, five men killed and seventeen wounded, was obliged to 
surrender. The Pilgrim had her spars and rigging much cut up, 
several shots between wind and water, and could be kept afloat only 
by constant pumping. 

The English account of the engagement, published in Rivington's 
Royal Gazette, states that the ship Mary, Captain Moses Stoward, 
sailed from Cork November 20 as a letter of marque. She was a 
vessel of 400 tons, armed with 22 guns and carried a crew of 82 men. 
December 28 she fell in with a Spanish frigate of 28 guns, and after 
an engagement of three hours the Spanish vessel sheered off. The 
Mary lost her fore and main topmasts in the action and had not 
completed repairs when she met the Pilgrim. According to the 
Gazette, Captain Robinson treated his prisoners with great kindness 
and courtesy, but the English officers and men left aboard the 
captured vessel were robbed of their watches, money and other 
personal effects. On their way to port the English prisoners plotted 
to retake the Mary and would have been successful, says the writer, 
had not the second mate decided to enlist in the American service, 
and betrayed the plan. As the prisoners on the Mary exceeded the 
prize crew in numbers, the Americans no longer felt safe with the 
Englishmen aboard, so the prisoners, ofiicers and men, were bundled 



352 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

into the long boat and set adrift 100 leagues to the westward of 
Barbados. The boat was provided with mast, spars, sails, compass 
and provisions and the prisoners reached land in safety. In this 
encounter the Pilgrim had the advantage of the larger crew, though 
weight of metal and size of ship were against her. The English 
claimed that the crew of the Pilgrim were mostly Scotch and Irish, 
a statement exaggerated no doubt but with a considerable basis of 
truth, for the crews of American privateers from 1780 to the end 
of the war were largely recruited from English deserters and prisoners. 
The day before the battle the Pilgrim took a brig and two days 
after the ship Lord Howe. 

On May 30, 1782, this advertisement appeared in a Boston paper: 
"A part of those fortunate and fast sailing ships, the Pilgrim and 
Mohock for sale. Inquire of the printer." It would be interesting 
to know whether any sale was made, as within thi'ee months one 
was wrecked and the other captured by an English vessel.-' American 
papers of October 12, 1782, report that the privateer Pilgrim, Captain 
Robinson, was chased ashore on Cape Cod by the English frigate 
Chatham, "Men, guns and stores saved; but vessel in a dangerous 
position." On October 23rd, "At Distil House Wharf, Beverly, all 
the stores lately belonging to that well found ship, the Pilgrim, includ- 
ing ten pairs of nine-pound cannon, will be sold at auction." On 
December 4, 1783, Boston papers advertise: "Ship Pilgrim, from 
Beverly for Ireland, Capt. Hugh Hill. Apply for freight to A. & J. 
Cabot." It is probable that this was not the original Pilgrim, but 
whether she left her bones in the sand of Cape Cod or was saved 
for further service she had made a record for Revolutionary privateers 
and* captured some fifty prizes. 

IV 

The year 1779 was a disastrous one for the merchants of Massa- 
chusetts. During that part of the year when privateering was natu- 
rally most lucrative their armed vessels were emploj^ed by the 
State in an expedition^ which afforded neither honor nor profit, and 



^ The Boston Gazette of June 24, 1782, stated that the previous Monday, 
the prize brig Neptune had been taken by "the Privateer Ship Pilgrim, Capt. 
Robinson, of Beverly" (PubUcations of this Society, xvii. 365 note). 

2 The Penobscot expedition. 



19223 BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 353 

its disastrous conclusion left them with little heart for new ventures 
or means to make them had they wished to. The story of the Black 
Prince and the Defence, the only two vessels of the expedition in which 
Beverly capital was invested, was alluded to in the last section. 
But two other new commissions were issued to Beverly privateers 
during the whole year, and these for vessels of trifling force. 

On September 1, 1779, on petition of John Dyson in behalf of 
Josiah Batchelder, Jr., and others of Beverly, William Groves was 
commissioned commander of the sloop Fish Hawk of 50 tons carrying 
8 guns and 50 men. The Fish Hawk made one cruize as a privateer 
and then under command of Samuel Foster, later of Israel Ober, 
both of Beverly, sailed as a letter of marque. In the list of officers 
and crew of the Fish Hawk who signed as from Beverly on June 6, 
1780, the share of prize money each was entitled to receive was 5 
shares for the commander, 23^2 shares for the 1st lieutenant, 1 share 
each to the mariners, and ]/2 a share to the cabin boy. 

How large a proportion of the prize money earned on the voyage 
of a letter of marque or cruize of a privateer w^ent to each officer 
and mariner on the vessel, depended on what share went to the 
owners, and this was by no means uniform. The owners of the 
privateer Revenge took one-quarter of the prize money, the owners 
of the Rambler two-thirds, and there were cases where the division 
was two-fifths to the owners and three-fifths to the crew. There 
must, however, have been real equality of division and the apparent 
difference made up by other factors. The difference could onlj^ be 
adjusted by the pajTnent of higher wages or giving a larger share 
of prize money to the men of the letter of marque. As a matter of 
fact, the share of prize money was usually less on a letter of marque 
than a privateer, and this must have been made up by high wages. ^ 

There is considerable doubt whether any wages were paid the 
crew of a privateer, and whether the cruize was not a cooperative 
one. At any rate, whatever the proportion taken by the owners 
the balance was divided, one share to each mariner; 13^2 to 2 shares 
to each petty officer, boatswain, gunner, carpenter, cooper; 23^2 to 
3 shares to the commander and 2nd and 3rd lieutenant of a privateer 
or mates of a letter of marque, and the share paid the first mate 

1 Wages on vessels in 1779 are quoted at £ 15 to £ 20 per month for ordinarj' 
seamen. While not so stated, this probably means letter of marque vessels. 



354 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

was usually one-half that paid the captain or commander, which 
might be 5 as in case of the Fish Haivk or 8 as in case of the Resource, 
or any number agreed on before sailing. 

These shares were negotiable like certificates of stock and com- 
manded a high or low price according to the reputation of the vessel, 
the skill of the captain, the season of the year, or the necessities of 
the seller. The spirit of gambling, always rife in times of war or 
inflated currency, made them an attractive speculation and they 
were divided like lottery tickets, as indeed they were, into halves, 
quarters and eighths and floated on the market. It was necessary 
for a married or improvident mariner, signing for a cruize on a pri- 
vateer, to make some provision for his family or creditors, and as 
this could not be done on advance on his wages he was obliged to sell 
the whole or a part of his shares. The following is a tj^De of a bill 
of sale very common in the war: "Beverly 1776, Hiram Brockhorn 
in consideration of 16 dollars paid In hand and a further consideration 
of 24 dollars at end of cruize of sloop Revenge, Captain Benj. Dean, 
sells John Waters one-half of his share of prize money and gives 
order on the Agent." Mr. Waters seems to have dealt quite ex- 
tensively in this kind of speculation and sometimes paid as high as 
one hundred dollars for one-quarter of a share. The last cruize of 
the Fish Haivk was made as a privateer under Captain Foster and 
she was taken while following the Quebec fleet in the summer of 
1781. 

The only other privateer commissioned from Beverly in 1779 
was the little schooner Adventure belonging to Larkin Thorndike 
and Sewell Tuck. She was 45 tons burden, armed with 6 carriage 
and 8 swivel guns, carried a crew of 35 men and was commanded 
by Robert Newman. A few months later William James of Beverly 
was commissioned commander, and she made some fairly successful 
cruizes. While under command of Captain James, the Adventure is 
accused of having stolen from Mr. Trask of Cape Persue, Nova 
Scotia, 64 hogsheads of salt and a boat, and complaint to that effect 
was made to the Massachusetts Council. In his petition, Mr. Trask 
allows that the salt has been returned but wishes to recover the boat 
also. 

The year 1780 opened under the most depressing conditions. 
"Our present state with respect to provision," writes Washington, 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE ROVOLUTION 355 

January 8th, "is the most distressing of any we have experienced 
since the beginning of the war. For a fortnight past the troops, 
both officers and men, have been almost perishing for want. They 
have been alternately without bread or meat the whole time, and 
frequently destitute of both." The inhabitants of the seaport towns 
of Massachusetts were not so badly off as Washington's starving 
troops, but from the early months of 1779 until the coming of the 
French in 1780 the growing scarcity of food excited the liveliest 
apprehension. On February 29, 1779, George Williams writes to 
Colonel Pickering: 

In this State on the sea coast the inhabitants will soon have nothing 
to eat. A biscuit is worth six shillings. No flour to be had. Many 
merchants have closed. One more such month will destroy all faith 
in our money. Rum 72 to 96 shillings a gallon. Ordinary broadcloth 
eleven pounds a yard. Tea 72 shillings a pound. Sugar 40 to 70 pounds 
a hundred weight. Silk stockings seven pounds. One pocket handker- 
chief 40 shillings. For a vomit or a purge, one pound. I remember 
the saying of your good father, "No faith in paper money." 

Again on April 6, 1779, he writes: "We are in great distress for 
want of food. Flour 40 to 50 pounds a hundredweight and none to 
be had." 

George Williams was something of a pessimist, and it is not prob- 
able that the people of the seacoast towns suffered so much from 
hunger as they were inconvenienced by loss of their usual food. Al- 
though merchantable cod were hard to obtain, the ocean at their 
feet still offered inexhaustible supplies of small fish; lobsters and 
clams could be had for the gathering, and few families were so poor 
as not to have their own kitchen garden. By 1780 the cost of fitting 
out a privateer was so great, the chance of getting a prize into port 
so small, that most merchants preferred to send out their vessels 
as letters of marque. The firm of J. & A. Cabot, however, made one 
more venture and fitted out a new privateer, the Essex. The Essex 
was a ship of 200 tons, carrying 20 sLx-pound guns and a crew of 
140 men. On I\Iay 6, 1780, John Cathcart of Salem was commis- 
sioned commander. The Essex sent a number of prizes into Beverly, 
but was taken by the English frigate Queen Charlotte June 10, 1781. 
A letter written by an officer of the Essex gives an account of the 



356 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

remarkable meeting on the high seas of several of Mr. Cabot's vessels 
and the loss of the Essex : 

Sailed from Beverly May 22nd 1781. June 6th made out a sail, gave 
signal and the vessel came alongside. It was the Pilgrim, Captain 
Robinson, and he had taken five prizes from the Jamaica fleet. Capt. 
Robinson, being the senior, ordered our Captain to cruize with him on 
the Irish coast. Next day saw a sail and gave chase. Came up with 
her and it was the Defence of Beverly.^ She kept company with us. 
Next day chased a brig which we found to be from Barbadoes for Cork, 
prize to the Rambler of Beverly. Next day a sail was discovered and 
the Pilgrim gave chase, we following, and the Defence following us. 
About nine A.M. saw another sail and gave chase and found her too 
heavy for us. Proved to be the Queen Charlotte of 32 guns, and we had 
to surrender. The Pilgrim, came up with her chase and found her to 
be the Rambler. 

All these vessels were at one time either ovv'ned or controlled by 
Mr. Cabot. 

Another vessel in which Mr. Cabot was interested this year was 
the Junius Brutus of Salem. This was a ship of 200 tons, carrying 20 
guns and 120 men. On May 23, 1780, on petition of Joshua Ward 
and Henry Rust, John Leach was commissioned commander. She 
was afterwards commanded by John Brooks and later by Nathaniel 
Brookhouse, both of Salem, and while under command of the former 
had a well contested engagement with the English ship Experiment, 
lasting three glasses. The Experiment mounted 18 long sixes and 
carried the then very valuable cargo of 1500 barrels of flour. The 
Experiment finally surrendered with a loss of two killed and two 
wounded. The Junius Brutus during her privateer life sent 890 tons 
of prizes into Salem and was captured in the autumn of 1782 and 
sent in to Newfoundland. 

Another privateer said to have been owned in Beverly but whose 
commission does not appear in the State Archives, was the brig Eagle 
of unknown tonnage and armament. According to her return of 
oflScers and crew June 17, 1780, William Groves of Beverly was 
commander. The Eagle was taken by an English vessel July 21, 



1 The Defence was a vessel built bj' Mr. Cabot to take the place of the brig- 
antine Defence lost in the Penobscot expedition. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 357 

1780. She is said to have been owned by James Lovett and Moses 
Brown of Beverly. 

The brigantine Active, 150 tons, 12 guns and 60 men, Nathaniel 
Swasey commander, owned by Andrew Cabot and others of Beverly, 
a former letter of marque, sailed this year as a privateer. In 1781 
she was commanded by Captain John Patten of Beverly and was 
captured by an English vessel and carried into Halifax. 

The year 1781 opened under brighter auspices. The arrival of 
the French fleet and army and the influx of gold consequent, served 
to steady our currency and improve trade. Privateering, howe\"er, 
was becoming every day more hazardous. The English merchant 
vessels either sailed as heavily armed letters of marque or under 
convoy of ships of war. The English fleet controlled our coast and 
made the departure and entrance of our vessels this time of greatest 
danger. Only five privateers, other than those already mentioned, 
sailed from Beverly during the year 1781 — the Scourge, Dolphin, 
Buccanier, Diana, and Mohawk. 

The Scourge was a fine new ship of 240 tons, carrying 20 guns and 
117 men, owned by Brown and Thorndike of Beverly. On May 24, 

1781, Timothy Parker of Norwich, Connecticut, was commissioned 
commander. She sailed on her first cruize from Portsmouth, where 
she was probably built, June 14, 1781, her signal being ensign at 
main top gallant masthead, pennant at mizzen head.^ Most of her 
cruizing was done in the West Indies and she sent several prizes 
into Martinique, and the brig Neptune and sloop Craicford into Bev- 
erly. The Scourge was taken by an English vessel April 22, 1782, 
and sent into Barbados. 

The Dolphin was a little schooner of 40 tons, 6 guns and 35 men, 
owned by William Romans and others of Beverly and commanded 
by Joseph Knowlton. 

The schooner Diana, commissioned August 20, 1781, was one of 
the lightest armed privateers that sailed from Beverly during the 
war. She carried 4 guns and 20 men, was commanded by Richard 
Lakeman of Ipswich and owned by Joseph Swasey of Salem and 
several Beverly merchants. 

One of the largest, finest and most fortunate privateers sailing 
from Beverly during the war was J. & A. Cabot's ship Buccanier of 

^ Diary of Moses Brown. 



358 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

350 tons, carrying 18 nine-pounders and a crew of 150 men. The 
Buccanier was a new and fast ship built especially for privateering, 
and on August 3, 1781, Hoystead Hacker of Providence, Rhode 
Island, once commander of the Continental sloop Prondence, was 
commissioned commander. She made one cruize in the English 
Channel under Captain Hacker, was coppered at L'Orient and then 
returned to Beverly. On INIarch 22, 1782, Jesse Fearson of Salem 
succeeded Captain Hacker, and the Buccanier returned to her old 
cruizing ground where, in company with the Cicero and Revolution, 
she remained until the end of the war. The Buccanier sent many 
prizes into France and a few to the home ports, and arrived back 
in Beverly in the month of June, 1783. 

November 8, 1781, on petition of William Leach, William Bartlett 
and others of Beverly, Elias Smith was commissioned commander 
of the ship Mohawk. This was a new vessel built especially for 
cruizing and carried 20 six-pounders, and a crew of 130 men. On 
her first cruize she sent three prizes into Martinique and one, the 
ship Daniel, formerly the Salem Packet, into Beverly. John Carnes 
of Beverly succeeded Captain Smith September 6, 1782, and when 
fourteen days out was taken by the English ship Enterprise and sent 
into New York. 

The year 1782, though offering bright prospects for American 
patriots, brought little comfort to the owners of American privateers. 
The surrender of Cornwallis meant ultimate triumph, but general 
bankruptcy seemed still more imminent. Privateering had turned 
out badly and many merchants had had the same experience as 
George Williams, who writes to Colonel Pickering: "I have lost 
two ships and a brig at St. Eustasia by that old Rodney and 
now I am reduced to a brig."^ Beverly had fared better than 
some of the seaport towns, and in the month of October, 1781, , 
had owned the following vessels, as given in the Nathan Dane 
Papers : 



^ The Island of St. Eustatius was the great neutral port of the West Indies. 
When taken by Lord Rodney it was crowded with French, English, and American 
vessels and the booty was immense. It was captured before the governor had 
received news of war between England and Holland and he made no resistance, 
though 600 American seamen, crews of privateers and letters of marque in port, 
offered their services in defence of the city. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 359 

Pilgrim 140 tons 

Buccanier ISO tons 

Mohawk 170 tons 

Revolution 270 tons 

Cicero 250 tons 

Rambler 165 tons 

Scourge 120 tons 

Swift 40 tons 

Lyon 300 tons 

Chance 85 tons 

Two Friends 85 tons 

Two sloops 30 tons 

Hulks 620 tons 

2455 tons 

The tonnage of the vessels in this list is much underestimated and 
was probably meant for the assessors. 

It is probable that the Revolution was commissioned in 1781, 
but the first record of her commission in the State Archives is on 
March 6, 1782, when, on petition of John and Andrew Cabot, Stephen 
Webb was commissioned commander. The Rewlution carried the 
heaviest armament of any privateer sailing from Beverly during the 
war. She was a ship of 330 tons armed with 20 nine-pound guns 
and carried a crew of 130 men. Immediately after his appointment 
Captain Webb sailed for France, had his vessel coppered at L'Orient 
and cruized in the English Channel until the close of the war. The 
Revolution sent many prizes into France and returned to Beverly 
after peace was declared. At a later period she was the cause of the 
severance of the friendly relations between the house of Cabot and 
the firm of Joseph Gardoqui & Sons of Bilbao, Spain. In 1785 some 
member of the firm of J. & A. Cabot writes to Joseph Gardoqui: 

Our house have now lying at Boston a ship of the most exquisite 
workmanship, beautiful beyond description, substantial, strong and free 
from defects. She is about 400 tons and cost upwards of 6000 guineas. 
She was built in 1782, and is well calculated for a packet or the West 
India trade. We are anxious to sell the vessel or put her into some 
channel where she, with her cargo, might be commissioned to cur 
friends in Europe. 

After much correspondence Gardoqui bought half of the Revolution 
for 1100 guineas on the understanding that she should be loaded 
on their joint account and sent to Europe. The Revolution, however. 



360 THE COLONLIL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

while fitted for a privateer, carried too little cargo to be profitable 
as a merchant vessel, and Gardoqui & Sons insisted that they had 
been imposed upon and resented it. 

The Shaker has the distinction of being the only galley sailing 
from Beverly during the war, and one of the very few owned in the 
State. Like the galleys of the Mediterranean, these vessels spread 
a large amount of canvas and only used their sweeps in a calm or 
when going to windward. The Shaker measured 50 tons, and carried 
6 four-pounders and a crew of 40 men. May 8, 1782, on petition 
of J. & A. Cabot, Samuel Stacy of Newburyport was commissioned 
commander. The next year Brown and Thorndike owned the Shaker 
and James Lovett^ of Beverly commanded her. The Shaker sent 
several prizes into Beverly and was sold at auction after the war. 

During the war cases of the recapture of the prize vessel by her 
imprisoned crew were quite common, but for a captured crew to re- 
take their own vessel and seize that of their captors is almost unique. 
Such, however, was the good fortune of the little brigantine Hope, 
owned and commanded by Herbert Woodberry of Beverly .^ Al- 
though brigantine rigged, the Hope was only 60 tons burthen, carry- 
ing 6 guns and 35 men. September 25, 1782, while cruizmg on the 
coast of Newfoundland, the Hope, Captain Woodberry, was taken 
by the Prince Edward, a large Xova Scotia privateer, a prize crew 
put aboard the Hope, and Captain Woodberrj^ and his crew confined 
on the Prince Edward. After the action the two vessels ran into a 
small harbor in Labrador, called Chateau, to refit, and while lying 
there Captain Woodberry and his men arranged a plan to rise on their 
captors, some sixty in number, and seize the vessel. All their plans 
were completed and the watchword "Liberty" given out, but the 
morning of the day chosen Captain Simmond of the Prince Edward 
decided to go on shore fishing and nothing would do but that Captain 
Woodberry must accompany him. After some excuses, afraid of 
exciting suspicion. Captain W^oodberry consented and the two cap- 
tains were rowed ashore. The plan still held, however, and during 
their absence the crew of the Hope suddenly rushed on the unsuspect- 
ing Englishmen, disarmed them, seized the Prince Edward and retook 

1 James Lovett (1749-1789), son of Benjamin and Eleonora (Cleaves) Lovett. 

2 Herbert Woodberry (1745-1809), son of Jacob and Abigail (Thorndike) 
Woodberry. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 361 

the Hope. When Captain Simmonds returned from his fishing 
trip he found himself on a hostile vessel and was obliged to surrender 
to his late prisoner. There were too many prisoners to risk taking 
them on the two vessels, so they were all set at liberty. The prize 
brig Prince Edward of 160 tons, armed with 16 four-pounders, and 
the little Hope reached Beverly in safety and the former was sold 
at auction. She proved to be the privateer Wilkes, late of Gloucester, 
which had been taken by the English and renamed Prince Edward. 

That same summer the Hope was party to a less creditable action, 
the attack on the town of Lunenburg. There had been a number 
of cases where our privateers had plundered the defenceless people 
of Nova Scotia, but in almost every case brought to their attention 
the General Court had given redress.^ The attack on Lunenburg 
occurred, however, at a time when public opinion was running high 
against the inhabitants of Nova Scotia, some of whom were claimed 
to have acted as spies while trading with INIassachusetts. Lunenburg 
was a small town in Nova Scotia containing four or five hundred 
inhabitants, defended by two blockliouses garrisoned by a few regular 
troops. Five small privateers, the brigantine Hope, Captain Wood- 
berry, the schooner Dolphin, Captain Knowlton, both of Beverly, 
the schooner Scammell, Captain Stoddard, the schooner Hero, Captain 
Babcock, and the Swallow, Captain Tibbets, joined forces and raided 
the town. Ninety-two men from the privateers, under Lieutenant 
Bateman, landed at four in the morning about three miles from the 
town and marched undiscovered until they came to the first block- 
house which was garrisoned by a few soldiers and armed with an 
18 pound cannon. The Americans had brought no artillery with 

1 Complaints against John Leach, commander of the schooner Dolphin, that 
he took 30 pounds of rice and 45 quarts of brandy from some Nova Scotians. 
(^Massachusetts Archives, ccxxvii. 210.) On January 20, 17S0, the General 
Court passed this resolve : 

"Whereas it appears to the court that several small privateers have committed 
many robberies above high water mark on the inhabitants of Nova Scotia. There- 
fore resolved that this court do highly disapprove the conduct of any persons 
belonging to and commissioned from the State in the business of privateering 
and also resolved that when anj' commission shall be given out in future to 
small armed vessels they give good and sufficient bonds for the purpose of pre- 
venting such evils again taking place." 

It is perhaps not strange that ignorant men did not appreciate the difference 
between robberies above and below high water mark. 



362 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

them, but they succeeded in setting the blockhouse on fire and the 
garrison surrendered. One blockhouse still remained, but by this 
time the Hero had run into the harbor and a few well directed shots 
from her 4-pound guns ended all resistance.^ "The Americans 
now," says an English account of the affair, "fell to plundering 
yiith. a pleasing and natural vivacity." The grocery stores were 
emptied of their contents and barrels of beef and pork, sugar and 
rum rolled down to the wharves. The shelves of the clothing stores 
were thoroughly rifled and when everything of value had been looted 
and the house of the commander burned, the town was ransomed 
for one thousand pounds. Goods to the amount of 8,000 pounds 
were brought away and libelled in the prize court at Boston. "On 
the side of the brave sons of liberty," says a Boston paper, "three 
men were wounded, on the side of the abettors of despotism and 
oppression, one man was killed." In retaliation for this attack the 
Chatham and two other English men of war were ordered to cruize 
on the bank and burn every American vessel taken, fishing vessels 
included, though these had previously been unmolested. 

The last and also the smallest privateer commissioned from Bev- 
erly during the war was the schooner Hopewell, of 25 tons, carrying 
10 swivels and 40 men. She was owned by William Homans of 
Beverly and commanded July 26, 1782, by Cornelius Dunham, 
later by Martin Brewster. On March 26, 1783, the official recall 
of privateers was made by the State of Massachusetts. 

V 

During the Revolutionary War commerce between the United 
States and neutral nations and their colonies, though carried on 
under great difficulties, by no means ceased. Practically there was 
a perpetual embargo on all vessels in American ports, except those 
engaged in fishing, but permission to sail with specified articles of 
export was usually granted in Massachusetts on petition to the 
Council. The exports from ]Massachusetts during the war were 
limited to lumber in its various forms, dry and pickled fish, and 
small amounts of New England rum. Provisions of all kinds were 

1 Schooner Hero, 26 tons, 9 guns (short guns) and 20 men. May 27, 1782, 
George W. Babcock, commander. This is the only case noted by me where 
ehort guns (carronades) were used on a privateer. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 363 

too much needed for home consumption to be used for export and 
even dried fish was often scarce. The Council therefore vacillated 
between the fear of high prices and destitution at home, and the 
necessity of allowing some articles of export in order to obtain 
supplies of another character. Under these conditions commerce 
was carried on by a system of frauds, to be explained later, which 
however was understood and winked at by the government. 

Prior to the time when France became an ally of the United States 
numerous vessels laden with war materials and supplies reached this 
country from that nation, but this was political rather than mer- 
cantile trade, and was accomplished by means of fraudulent papers.* 
French vessels cleared for the West Indies, and when near the 
American coast ran Into some convenient port and discharged cargo. 
Commerce by Massachusetts vessels was carried on in three ways: 
first, by unarmed merchant vessels, mostly coasting voyages; second, 
by the State in State vessels, or ships chartered for that purpose; 
third, by means of armed vessels provided with letters of marque. 
The first method was carried on by small sloops and schooners and 
included a curious trade with Nova Scotia. The second was not an 
economic success, but enabled the State to obtain articles of which 
it had great need. The third, that by letters of marque, did the 
bulk of the commerce. 

Trade by unarmed vessels consisted of coasting voyages to South 
Carolina for rice, or Maryland for flour, and was, of course, carried 
on in American vessels. The trade with Nova Scotia, on the other 
hand, was carried on by small craft belonging to that province. 
The towns of Barrlngton and Yarmouth were largely settled by 
people from Essex and Barnstable counties, in Massachusetts, and 
their trade and interest were chiefly with the Bay State.^ When 
war came they were shut off from trade with Halifax by the American 
privateers, and, neglected by the English, had no market for their 



1 "A number of Frenchmen at Nantes have united to build six brigantines 
carrying from ten to eighteen guns, three of which are ready for saihng, the 
best calculated vessels for the American purpose I ever saw. I am confident 
they will sail fast and they are as sharp as a wedge. They will clear for the 
French West Indies." (Auckland Manuscripts.) 

2 E. D. Poole's Annals of Yarmouth and Barrington (Nova Scotia) in the 
Revolutionary War (1899) contains a very interesting account of these Nova 
Scotians during the war. 



364 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

fish and potatoes except New England. They made some attempts 
to be declared neutral, but these failed and they remained tlirough- 
out the war ignored by the English and suspected by the Americans. 

Out of these peculiar conditions arose a limited trade, illegitimate 
in its nature but winked at by the government of ^Massachusetts so 
long as it suited their purpose. This trade was carried on under 
two pretexts, the first, based on the fact that so many inhabitants 
of Yarmouth and Barrington came from Massachusetts and had 
relations in the States, and the second, on the relief and transporta- 
tion of escaped and parolled prisoners. For example. May 14, 1777, 
Daniel Corning petitions the General Court that he may be per- 
mitted to remove his family from Yarmouth to Beverly, and also 
sell 200 quintals of fish which he had brought with him. This petition 
was accompanied by a letter from Josiah Batchelder, Jr., of Beverly, 
stating that Corning was a former resident of that town, who had 
emigrated to Nova Scotia before the war, and was a worthy person. 
Mr. Corning made a number of these voyages and as late as August 
30, 1780, petitions for leave to sell 150 quintals of fish and carry 
back to Nova Scotia a certain amount of flour, rum and sugar. 
Incidentally, he states that he has not yet found time to transport 
his family. This petition is the type of many others, all based on 
the fiction that the petitioner wishes to remove his family from one 
country to another. 

Another frequent visitor to Beverly was Thomas Flint of Yarmouth, 
who varies the formula somewhat. He writes the Council that he 
has arrived at Beverly in his schooner Hannah, bringing a number 
of escaped prisoners, ten hogsheads of salt and a quantity of dried 
fish, and asks permission to sell his cargo and invest the proceeds in 
supplies that he may be able to continue the good work and later 
bring his family to Beverly. The real object of these petitions, of 
course, was the trade and no removal of families took place, but 
Massachusetts merchants needed dried fish and salt and were glad 
to sell the sugar from their prizes and the fiery rum from their 
distilleries, and so the trade went on. 

The State trade had one advantage, that against it no embargo 
held. If sulphur or saltpetre was needed for powder, blankets for 
the troops or rice and flour for rations, it had only to dispatch one 
of its own vessels and, barring the accidents of war and sea, the 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 365 

material was secured. The voyage of the sloop Republic, one of the 
State vessels, is chronicled in the State Archives. The Republic, 
under charge of Allen Hallet, afterwards commander of the privateer 
Franklin, sailed from Boston for Port Royal in the autumn of 1777, 
with a cargo consisting of 35 hogsheads of fish, 25 tierces of salmon, 
ten barrels of pork, an unstated amount of pickled mackerel, 56,000 
shingles and 500 hoops, all consigned to Allen Hallet for sale. The 
Republic reached Port Royal in safety although pursued by an 
English cruizer, and on November 25, 1777, Allen Hallet writes to 
the Naval Board: "The fish being old and not well packed turned 
out so bad that I had to make an allowance of four livres. The 
salmon was exceedingly good, but are extremely unsalable here. 
The mackerel were spoiled and I was glad to get them out of the 
ship. Many of the boards were thrown overboard when we were 
chased on the voyage. The ox bows and yokes are little used by the 
French. After ballasting the vessel with rum and molasses I have 
employed the rest of the money in coffee." The Republic reached 
Boston on her return voyage with a cargo consisting of 88 hogs- 
heads and two tierces of molasses, 114 puncheons of rum, 38 barrels 
of coffee and three pieces of sheeting. This voyage shows quite 
clearly the lack of efficiency in public as compared with private 
ventures. 

On March 22, 1778, George Williams writes to Colonel Pickering: 
"State expects a brig from France with clothing, another brig in 
about two weeks, also two large ships bringing salt and blankets. 
One brig gone to Bilbao for salt and cordage and a brig and a ship 
to Carolina and France." Besides the State vessels many ships were 
chartered or bought from private owners, one at least from Beverly. 
On February 21st Nathan Leach of Beverly sells his ship Content, 
Captain William Langdell, to Captain Williams for the State service, 
to be delivered at Falmouth, and on March 18th receives this 
acknowledgement: "Received of Capt. William Langdell the ship 
Content which I am to load with masts by order of the Board of 
War. Signed, Wm. Frost." 

Sometimes when pressed for money the State entered into a 
limited partnership with rich merchants and divided the profits 
with them. February 25, 1779, the Board of War at Boston writes 
to Captain Batchelder at Beverly: "The Board being engaged to 



366 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

import rice and flour for the use of the State, would request you to 
use your influence among the monied men in Beverly and secure 
any sum of money they can advance to assist the public." The 
letter then goes on to say that it will be necessary to find several 
sloops of 50 to 70 tons to go to Maryland for flour and to Carolina 
for rice, and the Board will allow one-half of the rice and one-third 
of the flour brought back in payment. Owners to pay insurance 
and all other charges. 

Commerce, however, carried on by the State and unarmed vessels 
was inconsiderable, and it was by letter of marque vessels that most 
of the trading was done. A letter of marque had the advantage 
over the privateer in that she cleared for some port with a cargo on 
which, if safely delivered, there was a good profit, and she was also 
by her letters empowered to take any vessel of the enemy that came 
in her w^ay. In the early days of the war most of the letter of marque 
vessels were lightly armed and manned, but after 1780 some heavily 
armed letter of marque vessels made the voyage an incident and 
cruizing the real object. 

The commercial as well as the privateering history of Beverly is 
closely connected with the house of Cabot. Prior to the outbreak 
of the War of the Revolution the firm of John & Andrew Cabot 
carried on a large trade with Bilbao, Spain, their correspondents, 
as already stated, being the firm of Gardoqui & Sons. From 1770 
to 1775 they employed the sloops Tryall and Sally, the brigantine 
Union and the ship Rambler. The captains in their employ were 
George Cabot, Benjamin Lovett, Stephen Cleveland, Zachariah 
Burchmore, and Thomas Simmons. On April 20, 1776, George 
Cabot writes to Gardoqui & Sons: "The bearer of this, my brother, 
Mr. Francis Cabot, is upon a plan of spending some four months 
abroad, and is desirous of being aboard the Rambler, Capt. George 
Cabot, where he may have the pleasure of his brother's society. 
Please forward him letters of introduction and credit. I shall in 
a few days set out for Philadelphia where I have resided since these 
unhappy times commenced." For some reasons, probably of a 
business and political nature, John and George Cabot both sailed 
for Europe that same spring. September 7, 1776, the three Cabot 
brothers were at Bilbao, prepared to return home. It did not seem 
prudent to risk so many members of the firm in one vessel, so 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 367 

George Cabot sailed for Newbur^'port on a vessel commanded by 
Captain St. Barbe, Francis on the privateer Haivk, Captain Lee, 
and John on his own ship the Union, Captain Burchmore. The 
Cabot boys all arrived safe and on INIarch 27, 1777, Andrew Cabot 
writes the Council: "The Hector has recently arrived from Spain 
with a cargo of brandy. Your petitioners have furnished said vessel 
abroad wdth eight carriage guns and a due proportion of swivels and 
small arms. She carried these guns on her return trip and might 
have taken several prizes but for want of proper warrant. Your 
petitioners therefor request such warrant and a commission for 
Zachariah Burchmore." 

The Union, now bearing the more warlike name of Hector, of 150 
tons, 8 guns and 17 men, was the first letter of marque to sail from 
Beverly. She was owned by the Cabots and William Bartlett of 
Beverly. 

Another vessel owned by the Cabots at this time was the ship 
Rambler. Although no record of her commission as a letter of marque 
appears in the State Archives until 1779, there is a petition signed by 
Andrew Cabot of Beverly and George Dodge of Salem, dated 
February 18, 1777, asking that the ship Rambler be permitted to 
sail in ballast for Carolina, there take on a cargo of rice and sail 
for some neutral port in Europe, giving bonds that she will bring 
back salt, woolens and naval stores and give the State the first 
chance to purchase. This petition was granted July 18, 1777, and 
on October 18th Andrew Cabot writes Gardoqui & Sons: 

The Rambler, Capt. Simmons, which is owned by George Dodge and 
myself, and the ship Sally, Capt. Buffinton, in which I am also interested 
and Elias H. Derby's ship. Three Friends, are expected to arrive at Bilbao 
about the same time. The Three Friends carries 300 casks of rice for 
the Rambler and the Rambler 300 casks for the Sally. Capt. Simmons 
cargo is worth 16 to 18 thousand dollars, Buffinton's 13 thousand 
dollars. In the former I own one-third, in the latter three-sixteenths. 

Insurance at this time was very high and some merchants preferred 
to spread their risks and insure themselves. At a later date Benjamin 
Lovett insured the Rambler for $15,000 at the low rate of 35 per cent. 
It is probable that the ship Rambler here referred to was the same 
vessel afterwards commanded by Captain Lovett, but nothing more 



368 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

is heard ox her until September 16, 1779, when on petition of Andrew 
Cabot and others of Beverly, Benjamin Lovett was commissioned 
master of the ship Rambler of 200 tons, carrying 14 six-pound guns 
and 50 men.^ From the date of her commission to the end of the 
war, Captain Lovett commanded the Rambler, and during that time 
she sailed between Beverly and Bilbao, Spain, with almost the 
regularity of a packet. 

In 1781, the Defence, Captain John Edmonds, and the Rambler, 
Captain Lovett, sailed from Beverly for Bilbao. They reached that 
port, taking several prizes on the way, and after discharging cargo 
went on a cruize in company and among other prizes sent in to 
Bilbao two English privateers, the Snayper"^ and the Snake. About 
this time Andrew Cabot wrote Gardoqui that he wished him to pick 
out one or two suitable vessels among the prizes to be used as 
privateers. Had his letter reached Bilbao in time it is probable that 
one or both of these vessels would have sailed from Beverly as 
privateers, but as it was, Gardoqui wrote to Mr. Cabot: "We are 
exceedingly sorry that the kind order for the purchase of one or 
two armed vessels had not reached us sooner, as we then would 
have had the opportunity of appropriating for your use the Snapper 
and the Snake, which we imagine would have been the only ones 
which might have suited your purpose. At present there is only 
the Mercury, and Capt. Lovett does not seem to encourage our 
taking her on your account." In the same letter Gardoqui states 
that Captain Lovett talks of going on a cruize in the Rambler with 
Captain Robinson in the Pilgrim, and Captain Hill in the Cicero. 
It is probable that he did not carr}^ out his intention, as the Rambler 
arrived at Beverly November 9, 1781. Besides the prizes sent into 
Bilbao by the Rambler, the prize brigantines Mary and Charming 
Polly were sent into the home port. 

The Rambler sailed again from Beverly, March 6, 1782, and 
Andrew Cabot was evidently in doubt where to send her or what 
to do with her. In his letter of instruction for the voyage, dated 
February 12, 1782, Mr. Cabot directs Captain Lovett to proceed 



* There was also a brig Rambler captured by the English frigate Harriet Selvyl 
in 1779. 

^ The Snapper, Capt. Taylor, was a famous letter of marque from Liverpool, 
and had taken many American vessels. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 369 

first to the Havana and leaves his subsequent course to his own 
discretion. He can go to Cadiz or any European port but he is on 
no account to return to the United States for one year. If he thinks 
best he can sell the Rambler abroad for $40,000 and invest the money 
at interest. When he returns home he is to head for Martha's Vine- 
yard and wait there until he can get information of any English 
cruizers in the bay. Two-thirds of the prizes are to be the property 
of the Rambler's owners. The signal for the Rambler and her prizes 
is to be ensign and pennant at main top gallantmast head, ensign 
above pennant. What happened to the Rambler during the ensuing 
year does not appear, but on February 13, 1783, she was reported 
at Virginia with a cargo of sugar from Cuba, and on March 18, 1783, 
she was advertised to sail for Ireland, Hugh Hill, master. If the 
Rambler commissioned in 1779 was identical with the Rambler 
owned by the Cabots in 1775, then she has the distinction of being 
one of the very few vessels in active service during the whole war. 
But at any rate, the Rambler, next to the Cicero, was the most 
fortunate and successful of all the letter of marque vessels sailing 
from Beverly. 

There were a number of small vessels owned in Beverly, not all 
letters of marque, w^hose names are only learned accidentally and 
which do not seem to have been included in the list in the Dane 
Papers. Such a vessel was the Sally,^ a sloop of 48 tons, owned 
tliree-quarters by Andrew^ Cabot and one-quarter by Thomas 
Bridges. The Sally ran regular trips between Beverly and Boston 
during all the war. From 1779 to 1784 she was commanded by 
Captain Arnold Martin, a native of Marblehead, and his wages 
for the five years amounted to £602. 

Another vessel sailing from Beverly, of which there is no record 
in the State Archives, was the schooner Friendship, owned by 
Ebenezer Ellingwood, grandson of Ralph Ellingwood, one of the 
original settlers of Beverly. The Friendship was commanded in 
1774 by Eleazer Giles, Mr. Ellingwood's son-in-law, and there is in 
the Dane Papers the original insurance policy taken on the Friendship 
for a trip to the West Indies in 1774. 

It should be said in explanation that considerable insurance was 



^ Mr. Cabot had at one time a ship, a schooner, and a sloop all named Sally. 



370 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

done by private individuals, usually for small sum. Joseph Lee and 
Henry Thorndike of Beverly and many of the Salem merchants did 
a little of this business, which was no doubt profitable and certainly 
exciting. The policy ran as follows: 

Know all men that Ebenezer Ellingwood of Beverly, Merchant, as 
well in his own Name and Names of all and every other person or 
persons, to whom the Town doth, may or Shall apportion a Part or 
in all, doth make. Assure and Causeth himself and them and any of 
them to be insured, lost or not lost, the sum of Two hundred pounds 
from Beverly to Any and All the ports in the West Indies, and from 
them to Beverly again, upon the Schooner Friendship and Cargo, 
Stoves, Boats and Appurtances, whereof is Master, Under God, 
Eleazer Giles. To continue and endure the Voyage Aforesaid and 
until Said Vessel shall be assured and Moored at Anchor 24 hours 
in safety in the harbor of Beverly. Insurance at the rate of eight 
pounds per cent. 

Salem, June 24, 1774. 

N. B. It is agreed between the Insured and the Insurer that in case 
Said Vessel leaves the West Indies on or before Aug. 10 and arrives 
at Beverly safe then two of the x\bove 8 per cent is to be Returned. 
The 10 of Aug. being Inserted before Signing. 100 pounds. Benjamin 
Pickman for 100 pounds. 

Nothing more is heard of the schooner Friendship until February 
2, 1778, when the New York Gazette and Mercury reports: "Ship 
Tom, Capt. Lee, fell in with the schooner Friendship, Capt. Elling- 
wood, from Salem for Surinam, loaded with fish and lumber. Took 
her and sent her into Liverpool, The day after, the Torn took the 
privateer schooner Warren of Beverly." The ship Tom was a Liver- 
pool letter of marque, carrying 22 six-pound guns, commanded by 
Captain John Lee, and four years later by a kind of retributive 
justice while on a voyage from St. Lucie, laden with sugar, the Tom, 
still under Captain Lee, was taken by the Porus, Captain John 
Carnes of Beverly. Ebenezer Ellingwood also owned in 1777 one- 
quarter of the sloop Beverly, the other three-quarters being owned 
by Eleazer Giles, John Hale, and Benjamin W^aters. 

The only other letter of marque sailing from Beverly in 1777 was 
the brigantine Starks, owned by John and Andrew Cabot. She was 
a vessel of 120 tons carrying 8 four-pound guns and a crew of 20 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 371 

men. On December 8, 1777, Richard Quatermass was commissioned 
captain, who was succeeded on October 16, 1779, by Ezra Ober. 

It was during this year, 1777, that the women of Beverly made 
their famous raid on the storehouses of the Beverly merchants and 
compelled them, for the time at least, to sell at the prices fixed by 
the State. The rise of prices which began in 1776 was due not only 
to depreciation of the currency but also to actual scarcity. There 
was plenty of rice in Carolina and flour in IMaryland, but its distri- 
bution was a matter of difficulty. Codfishing, the staple industry of 
Massachusetts, was confined to the seacoast, or if carried on at the 
banks was attended with great danger of capture. Coffee, sugar, 
cocoa and molasses could only be obtained by hazardous voyages to 
the West Indies or by capture of the enemy's vessels. Under these 
conditions prices were naturally high and ever rising. January 25, 
1777, in accordance with previous conferences and agreements with 
other New England States, the General Court of IMassachusetts 
passed an act to prevent monopoly and oppression.^ Farm labor 
was not to exceed 30 shillings per week in summer; wheat 7 shillings 
6 pence a bushel; flour four and a half pence a pound; salt pork in 
proportion to the amount of salt used in curing; salt 10 shillings, or 
if made in the State 12 shillings.^ West India rum, 6 shillings 8 
pence a gallon; New England rum 3 shillings 10 pence a gallon; 
sugar 3 pounds a hundred weight; butter 2 pence a pound; milk 
23^ pence a quart; potatoes 1 shilling 4 pence a bushel. Beverly at 
this time rivalled Salem in the number of its stores and quality of 
goods displayed, and it was to Beverly that George Williams came 
September 23, 1777, to purchase shoes, blankets, stockings and yarn 
for the State, but would not buy on account of high prices. " Went 
to Beverly again Nov. 3rd," he writes, "and found shoes 24 shillings 
a pair, blankets 9 pounds and stockings 20 shillings, would not buy." 
The women of Beverly, however, were not like George Williams 
coiTtent with the refusal to buy but determined to make the mer- 
chants of Beverly sell at the fixed prices and, "One cold November 
morning," says Mr. Stone, "a company of about sixty . . . marched 



1 Cf. Publications of this Society, x. 116-134, xx. ■563-190. 

^ The first salt works were established at Dermis, Cape Cod, in 1776. After- 
wards several towns went into the business, Gloucester having three. Cf. 1 
Proceedings Massachusetts Historical Society, xv. 224. 



372 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

in regular order down Main and Bartlett streets to the wharves, 
attended by two ox-carts."^ With the assistance of some men who 
followed the procession, the doors of one of the sugar-houses were 
forced and two hogsheads of sugar rolled out and placed in the cart. 
At this juncture the Beverly merchants effected a compromise by 
which a certain amount of sugar should be sold at the fixed price 
and the incident was closed. 

VI 

The number of letter of marque vessels sailing from Beverly in 
1778 was small, though doubtless there were more than are recorded 
in the State Archives. The first vessel commissioned was the brig- 
antine Saratoga, of 120 tons, 8 guns and 30 men, owned by Andrew 
Cabot, Joseph Lee and others of Beverly. Her first captain was 
John Tittle^ of Beverly, best know^n for his successful defence against 
great odds while in command of a Marblehead vessel. In 1782 the 
ship Cato, Captain John Tittle, of 14 guns and 57 men, sailed as a 
letter of marque from Marblehead for Virginia. On the voyage she 
was attacked by three privateers, the Fair American, Dighy, and 
Prince Edward, mounting 16, 14 and 8 guns respectively. For two 
hours the Cato fought the three vessels, nearly treble her strength, 
sometimes at long gunshot, often yard arm to yard arm, while 
Captain Tittle, now heading a rush to repulse boarders, now threaten- 
ing to run any man through who flinched from the guns, manoeuvered 
his vessel so skilfully that when night came he eluded his antagonists 
and escaped in the darkness. "The brave officer who defended the 
Cato," says the Salem Gazette, "has the thanks of her owners and 
the applause of the public." The Saratoga was afterwards com- 
manded by Stephen Webb, Eleazer Giles, and Andrew Thorndike. 
While under command of Captain Giles the Saratoga had an en- 
counter with an English vessel during which the captain lost his 
leg, the amputation being done by the ship's surgeon, Dr. Elisha 
Whitney.^ On November 21, 1781 the brigantine Saratoga was 
reported condemned and sold at Beverly. 



1 E. M. Stone, History of Beverly (1843), p. 83. 

2 John Tittle (1735-1800). 

' Elisha Whitney was born at Watertown March 11, 1747; moved to Beverly 
in 1792; died February 22, 1807. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 373 

The first letter of marque commissioned from Beverly in 1779 was 
the brigantine Union, of 120 tons, 6 guns and 20 men. It is possible 
that this was the letter of marque Hector formerly the Union, under 
her old name. William Langdell was commissioned captain January 
4, 1779. The petition of Moses Brown, January 23, 1779, reads: 

To the Hon. the Council of the State Capital of Mass. Bay. 

May it please Your Honors. Your petitioner with others has a letter 
of marque brigantine, called the Union, Capt. William Langdell, owned 
in Beverly, loaded with lumber and 34 hogshead of fish, chiefly scale 
fish and the remnant very small burnt cod, by no means fit for the 
consumption of this country as you will note by a certificate from the 
packers and vouched for by the Committee of Correspondence of 
Beverly. Your petitioner therefore prays that Your Honors will grant 
a permit to have the above mentioned brigantine and cargo cleared for 
some port in the Western Islands not at war with the United States. 
Petition granted. 

Of the many captains who sailed for the firm of Andrew and John 
Cabot, Benjamin Lovett of Beverly stood first in length of service 
and continuity of employment. In 1779 he commanded the Sebas- 
tian, a name indicative of her ownership and was employed in the 
Spanish trade. In the autumn of the same year he took command of 
the Rambler and Benjamin Ellingwood, late captain of the schooner 
Friendship, just returned from an English prison, took his place. 
In 1780 Captain Ellingwood took command of the brigantine Active, 
and Ichabod Groves^ of Beverly was commissioned master of the 
Sebastian. The Sebastian is reported in the papers as lost or taken 
in 1780. If so, Mr. Cabot must have bought or built another 
Sebastian, as in 1784 the Sebastian, Captain Cleveland, returned to 
Beverly from a voyage to St. Petersburg. 

On petition of George Cabot, Joseph Lee and others, John Porter 
was commissioned master of the brigantine Experiment, of 130 tons, 
6 guns and 25 men, March 30, 1779. The Experiment was bound to 
the West Indies with a cargo of fish, and Ebenezer Ellingwood and 
Benjamin Waters make the following arrangement to spread their 
risks : 



^ Ichabod Groves, born in 1744, was a son of John and Catherine (Leach) 
Groves. 



374 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

This indenture witnesses that the Undersigned have exchanged each 
a quarter of a share of such prizes and effects as shall be taken by 
certain privateers and private vessels making their present voyages. 
Viz, the said brigantine Experimoit, John Porter, Commander, for a 
quarter of such vessels as shall be taken by the ship Rambler, Benj. 
Lovett, Master, and that he covenants with the said Ebenezer Elling- 
wood to make all further assurance for such exchange, and the said 
Ebenezer covenants to do agreeably thereto. 

Witness our hand and seals this 10th day of Oct. 1779. 

Ebenezer Ellingwood 
Benj. Waters. 

The brigantine Fortune, owned by Miles Greenwood of Salem and 
John Dyson of Beverly, sailed alternately as a letter of marque and 
privateer, and in both characters she was a fortunate vessel. On 
her first voyage she was commanded by Francis Bowman of Salem, 
later by Jesse Fearson of Salem and Benjamin Ives of Beverly. On 
November 7, 1781, Richard Ober of Beverly was commissioned 
commander. On the voyage under Captain Ober the Fortune, a 
100 ton vessel, armed with 7 guns, carried a crew of only 15 men. 
This seems a very small number, but there was at this time a strong 
feeling that men shipped on private armed vessels to avoid serving 
in the Continental army and that letter of marque vessels should 
restrict themselves to commerce. So strong w^as the feeling that the 
attention of the General Court was called to it and a committee 
appointed which reported as follows: 

The Committee of both Houses to whom was referred the Informa- 
tion of the Committee of Correspondence of the town of Salem, that 
numbers of persons in the County of Essex are fitting out vessels under 
Pretence of their going on JMerchant voyages but really with Intent to 
make captures on the High Sea, for which purpose they are manning 
vessels with ]\Iany More Men than are necessar}^ to na\'igate the Same, 
if bound on a merchant Voyage, by which the good design of the 
Legislature in laying the present Embargo is subverted. 

The committee then went on to report a resolve which allowed 
crews to letter of marque vessels only in proportion to the tonnage 
of the vessel, eight men for every 100 tons, including master and 
mate, and the same proportion for larger vessels. Of course this 
w^as out of reason, for why arm a vessel if she could not carry men 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 375 

enough to man the guns? At a later period the distinction between 
privateer and letter of marque became one of name merely. 

In the summer of 1779, there was a brigantine, of unknown ton- 
nage and armament lying in Beverly harbor, commanded by a well 
known Beverly captain, Joshua Ellingwood. She was loaded with 
the usual cargo of fish and lumber and had been held up by 
the embargo on account of the Penobscot expedition as well as the 
standing one on provisions. Mark Lafitte of Salem, owner of the 
cargo, petitioned the Council that the Mars be allowed to sail and 
to the petition was appended this certificate: 

Beverly, Aug. 9, 1779. 
We certify to whom it may concern that the brigantine, Mars, Com- 
manded by Capt. Joshua Ellingwood, now Lying in the Harbor of 
Beverly, is loaded with Alewives, Menhaden, and lumber and that 
there is no Cod or other dried fish aboard said brigantine, nor other 
provision more than is necessary for her voyage. 

JosiAH Batchelder, Jr. 

Nathan Leach. 

This certificate illustrates a branch of trade that went on all through 
the war. There was a perpetual embargo on provisions, especially 
dried cod. But cod was the one export from Massachusetts which 
alw^ays commanded a ready sale. Consequently vessels loaded with 
dried cod, pickled mackerel, herring and menliaden, and then 
obtained certificates from the packers, selectmen of the town or 
committee of correspondence, that there was no cod in the cargo 
or that the cod were burnt or otherwise unfit for food. It was a 
fraud, understood by both parties, and to such an extent was it 
carried on that at one meeting of the Council four petitions from 
the merchants of the town of Newburyport to export spoiled cod 
were favorably acted on. 

The other letter of marque vessels sailing from Beverly in 1779 
were the sloop Driver, the snow Cato and the schooner Haivk, all 
vessels of which little is known. The Driver was commanded by 
Daniel Adams, later by Robert Haskell, the Cato by Eleazer Giles, 
and the Hawk by William Holland. 

On October 6, 1779, occurred the adjourned meeting of the Concord 
Convention, held to take into consideration the prices of merchandize 
and country' produce and make such regulations and restrictions as 



376 



THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS 



[Jan. 



the public good might require. There were present from Beverly 
George Cabot, William Bartlett, Joseph Wood, and Moses Brown. 
The Convention resolved: 

That after the 13th day of October the following articles of mer- 
chandise and CO mi try produce shall not be sold at a higher price than 
is hereto fixed to the same. 





Prices on the sea coast 




Indian corn 


two pounds, four shillings 


per bushel 


Wheat 


nine pounds 


a (I 


Wheat flour 


thirty pounds 


" 100 weight 


Beef 


five shillings 


" pound 


Geese, fowls 


six 


(( it 


Salt pork 


sixty pounds 


" barrel 


New milk 


two shillings 


" quart 


Salt 


nine pounds 


" bushel 


Mackerel 


thirty pounds 


" barrel 


Herring 


twenty five pounds 


<< (( 



Then followed a long list of articles of less importance to which a 
maximum was fixed and the Convention further resolved: 

Whereas the goods and wares imported from Europe are so various 
in their kinds as to render it quite impracticable to affix the price by 
retail, therefor, the average price by retail of all kinds of European 
wares shall not exceed forty times what they were in 1773. Any person 
who shall directly or indirectly recall or evade this resolve shall be 
held an enemy to his country and treated as such, and his name shall 
be published in one or more of the public newspapers printed in this 
State. That the buying and selling of gold or requiring it for goods 
furnished has been one great cause of our present evils. 



The Convention also advised each town to appoint a special com- 
mittee " To cany these resolutions into effect and denounce all those 
who refuse to sell at the prices fixed and should any do so the Com- 
mittee are authorized to seize such person's goods, sell them and 
return to the owner the fixed price." It is hardly to be supposed 
that such men as represented Beverly in the Convention really 
believed that any such plan was practicable; they probably agreed 
with George Williams that the rise in prices was due to the "Dam 
paper monej'," but public opinion on the subject was high and 
something had to be done to satisfy the people. The Resolutions 



1922] BEVERLY PIIIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 377 

of the Convention had no legal force and efforts to enforce them 
were soon abandoned. 

The first letter of marque commissioned in 1780 was Andrew 
Cabot's new brigantine the Defence, named after his vessel lost in 
the Penobscot expedition. She measured 150 tons and carried 16 
four-pound guns and a crew of 50 men. March 22, 1780, John 
Edmonds of Beverly was commissioned captain. Like the Rambler, 
Andrew Cabot employed her in the Spanish trade. She sent a 
number of prizes into Spain and Beverly, but October 2, 1781, on 
a voyage from Bilbao for Beverly, she was captured in Boston bay 
by the English ship Chatham. 

In the jNIassachusetts Archives is a list of the officers and crew 
of the brigantine Active on her voyage for Gottenburg. Mr. Cabot, 
her owner, had for some time looked forward to the Baltic trade 
which he afterw^ards engaged in and it would be interesting to know 
what success the vessel had, for no particulars of the voyage seem 
to have been preserved. If she reached Gottenburg she was one of 
the first American vessels to carry our flag into the Baltic.^ The 
Active afterwards sailed as a privateer, at first under Captain Swasey, 
later under Captain Patten and while under the latter was taken 
by an English vessel and carried into Newfoundland. 

The ship Resource of 175 tons, 16 guns and 30 men, was owned by 
Thomas Woodberry, Ebenezer Parsons, and Brown & Thorndike. 
Her first captain, Israel Thorndike, was commissioned June 12, 1780. 
Captain Thorndike made one voyage in the Resource and then turned 
her over to his mate, Richard Ober.^ Captain Ober sailed for the 
West Indies and on the voyage was taken by an English sloop of 
war and carried into Jamaica. 

The brigantine Fanny, owned by Livermore Whittredge, William 
Bartlett and others of Beverly, was probably the last vessel sailing 
from Beverly during the war which carried a distinctively Beverly 
crew. The Fanny, on a voyage from Beverly for Hispaniola with 
a cargo of fish, was taken May 28, 1781, by the English brig 
Providence and carried into New York. 

There is in the Nathan Dane Papers a rough draught of a protest 



1 See p. 423 note 1, below. 

2 Richard Ober (1745-1821), son of Richard and L3'dia (Chapman) Ober. 



378 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

against the taxes assessed on the town of Beverly for the year 1780. 
The paper recites: 

Before the war the trade of Beverly was % as large as 1780. Before 
the war there were owned in Beverly 35 schooners and other vessels 
employed in fishing, manned by 300 men whose earnings were spent 
in town and carried considerable part of our taxes. In 1780 it paid 
only 3^ part of our taxes. Citizens of Beverly had taken away from 
the town money by purchasing estates about Boston. Shipping amounts 
to 2844 tons manned 'vio by men from other to^-ns. In 1772 Beverly 
had 550 polls, in 1780 only 479. There are 190 widows in to\\Ti, of 
whom 142 pay no taxes. 

Beverly, like the other seaport towns, had been drained of her 
young men, some by death, more by the prison ships of New York 
and the jails of Halifax and England. Salem was no better off. 
September 30, 1780, the ship Viper sailed from Salem with a crew 
consisting of two merchants, 4 ship wrights, 1 joiner, 1 farmer, 1 
cooper and 18 foreigners. The crew numbered 36, so that only 9 
were mariners and half were foreigners. The ship D'Estaing of 
150 tons, 10 guns and 25 men, owned by John Dyson and others 
of Beverly, commanded by Elias Smith,^ sailed a little later with a 
crew made up of foreigners. 

The brigantine Freedom of 90 tons, 7 guns and 15 men, commanded 
by Benjamin Ober^ of Beverly, had a crew drawn from Beverly, 
Georgetown and Eastham with a sprinkling of foreigners. 

The last letter of marque commissioned from Beverly in 1780 was 
the snow Diana, of 140 tons, 8 guns and 25 men. She was owned 
by Larkin Thorndike and others of Beverly, and September 19, 1780, 
William Herrick of Beverly was commissioned master. In the early 
part of the year the privateer Pilgrim had sent into Beverly the 
prize snow Diana, said to have been used as a gentleman's yacht 
and very fast, and it is probable that she was bought and fitted out 
as a letter of marque. Captain Herrick was killed in action off 
Bermuda in 1780, and the Diana was taken by an English vessel 
in 1781. 

The first letter of marque commissioned in 1781 was the brig- 
antine Swift of 100 tons, 8 guns and 20 men. owned by William 

1 Elias Smith (1744-1S17). 

- Benjamin Ober (17ol-1780) died abroad. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 379 

Homans and others of Beverly. January 3, 1781, Asa Woodberry^ 
was commissioned master. On June 5, 1781, John Tittle of Beverly 
was commissioned commander and she sailed as a privateer. On 
October 20th of the same year Captain Tittle was succeeded by 
Israel Johnson, and while under his command the Swift was captured 
by the English. 

The year 1780 had been a hard one for the merchants of New 
England, privateering had been unprofitable, food and fuel scarce, 
and the cost of fitting out vessels almost prohibitive. Few men had 
the courage or means to risk new ventures in 1781, but the house 
of Cabot was an exception and they began the year by commission- 
ing two new vessels on the same day, the Commerce and the Cicero. 
The story of the Commerce was a short one, for she proved as unfor- 
tunate as the Cicero was fortunate. She was a ship of 200 tons, 
carrying 6 nine-'and 8 four-pound guns, and a crew of 50 men. On 
January 16, 1781, Stephen Webb of Beverly was commissioned 
master and on her first voyage, a few days out, she was taken by 
an English cruiser. 

The Cicero was a new sliip of 200 tons, armed with 10 nine- and 
6 four-pound guns and carried a crew of 100 men. Her heavy arma- 
ment, large crew and the captain chosen to command her, Hugh 
Hill, showed that despite her letter of marque commission, she was 
really a disguised privateer. She was commissioned January 16, 1781, 
and her first voyage was to the West Indies, where she took on a 
cargo of sugar and cocoa, and sailed for Cadiz, arriving there April 
17, 1781. On the voyage she took several prizes and while waiting 
for her return cargo went on a cruize and was again very successful. 
One of her prizes, taken June 23rd, was the ship Mercury, Captain 
Dillon, of 16 guns, running as a packet to Cadiz. The Mercury, 
besides a valuable cargo including £15,000 in gold, carried a con- 
siderable passenger list, and on their arrival at Cadiz the passengers 
published a letter speaking in the highest terms of Captain Hill and 
the treatment they received on board the Cdcero. 

This cruize of the Cicero is referred to in John Trumbull's account 
of his travels in Europe. INIr. Trumbull embarked from Amsterdam 
for America in the U. S. frigate Carolina, Commodore Gillon, and 
soon after sailing they ran into a violent gale. "Happily for us," 

1 Asa Woodberry (1749-1830), son of Thomas and Lucy (Herrick) Woodberry. 



380 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

writes Mr. Trumbull, "Commodore Barney was among us, (he had 
just escaped from Mill prison in England,) " and he practically took 
command of the ship.^ After the gale was over the vessel was 
found to be short of provisions and headed for Corunna. Here they 
found the Cicero of 20 guns belonging to ]\Ir. Cabot. As the Cicero 
was about to sail for Bilbao several of the passengers on the Carolina 
obtained permission from Captain Hill to make the voyage with 
him and transferred their luggage to the Cicero. Besides John 
Trumbull, son of Governor Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut, 
Captain Hill's passengers included Charles Adams, son of John 
Adams of Massachusetts, ]\Iajor Johnson, and the celebrated Joshua 
Barney. The last had been taken from a prison ship in New York 
harbor and carried with 78 other American officers to England and 
there confined in Mill Prison. He had escaped from INIill Prison 
and made his way to Amsterdam, where he took passage on the 
Carolina for America. 

On the voyage to Bilbao the Cicero, accompanied by the prize 
Mercury, had an unfortunate encounter with a Spanish vessel which 
she mistook for English in the darkness, and soon after her arrival 
at Bilbao she was libelled by the owners of the Spanish ship and 
deprived of rudder and sails. Damages were placed at $7000 and 
it was only after Gardoqui & Sons, Mr. Cabot's agents, had given 
bonds to that amount that the Cicero was allowed to sail. Captain 
Hill and his passengers left Bilbao December 10, 1781, and after an 
uneventful passage of six weeks sighted the Blue Hills of Milton. 
That night, writes Trumbull, "we found we were close upon the 
rocks of Cape Ann," and the next morning "we were safe in the 
port of Beverly, where we found eleven other ships, all larger and 
finer vessels than the Cicero — all belonging to the same owners, 
the brothers Cabot — laid up for the winter. Yet such are the 
vicissitudes of war and the elements, that before the close of the 
year they were all lost by capture or wreck, and the house of Cabot 
had not a single ship afloat upon the ocean." ^ This statement of 
Mr. Trumbull demands considerable credulity, for it is extremely 
doubtful whether eleven vessels larger than the Cicero entered 
Beverly harbor during the w'ar, and while Mr. Cabot in common 

1 Autobiography, Reminiscences and Letters (1841), p. 82. 

2 Id. p. 87. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 381 

with all owners of armed vessels suffered severe losses in 1782, yet 
the Cicero, Revolution, and Buccanier were all profitably cruizing at 
the end of the year. Mr. Cabot is said to have offered Joshua Barney 
the command of one of his privateers but he declined. 

About this time the hitherto friendly relations between the house 
of Gardoqui and the house of Cabot became strained, "We have 
never had to do with'such'^a set of unruly officers as Capt. Hill has 
aboard," wTites Joseph Gardoqui November 29, 1781, "all our 
reasoning has no effect, they insist on having all their prize money 
or Leave the Ship." February 3, 1782, Andrew Cabot writes to 
Gardoqui & Sons that he has reason to be dissatisfied with them 
and shall send the Cicero and Rambler to Cadiz and his other pri- 
vateers to France. The quarrel must have been made up, however, 
as on September 28, 1782, Gardoqui writes Andrew Cabot: "Give 
us leave to congratulate you most affectionately on the safe arrival 
of your ships Cicero, Buccanier and Revolution at L'Orient. News 
communicated by Capt. Hill, forwarding us at the same time two 
bills on Paris for 30,000 and 6,720 livres, endorsed by Capt. Zachariah 
Gage on account of a vessel he sold at Cape Francois." The vessel 
sold was the brig Chance and nothing seems to be known about the 
voyage. 

To Agent or Agents. For value received please to pay to Mrs. Esther 
Langdell the amount of one quarter part of a Single share of all the 
Prize Money or Goods that my Son, Andrew Gage may be entitled to 
for Services Against the Enemies of the United States of America on 
board the Armed ship Sisaroe, Capt. Hugh Hill, Commander. 

N.B. by said cruise is Meant from the time Said Ship Sailed from 
the port of Beverly until Said Ship returned. 

her 
Elizabeth * Gage 
mark. 
Witnesses, 

John Harris 
Samuel Bowden 

This order on the agent of the Cicero is a sequel to a sad story 
indicated in several places in the State Archives. In 1775 Andrew 
Gage, husband of the writer of the order, was taken prisoner on a 
Beverly vessel and up to June 22, 1778, was either doing compulsory 



382 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

service on some British armed vessel or was confined in an English 
prison. On the date mentioned ]Mrs. Gage petitioned the Council 
for permission to sell a piece of land belonging to her husband in 
order to obtain means to live. When, if ever, Andrew Gage returned 
to his family we find no record. The Andrew Gage mentioned in 
the order was her son. 

The Cicero returned to France and then cruized in the English 
Channel until the end of the war, arriving back at Beverly ^lay 22, 
1783, under Captain Ezra Ober,^ Captain Hill having stopped in 
London. 

The first letter of marque sailing from Beverly in 1782 was the 
ship Spanish Packet of 200 tons, 10 guns and 20 men. She was 
owned by James Jeffrey, Francis Cabot and others, and commanded 
by Thomas Bailing. Very little is known of her. 

The ship Lyon was the largest letter of marque vessel sailing from 
Beverly during the war. She was a former English ship, the George, 
prize to the Ranger, bought by Mr. Cabot and built over for a mast 
ship. In 1781 Andrew Cabot WTote to Gardoqui & Sons at Bilbao 
and Butler & Mathews at Cadiz asking the price at which masts 
and spars could be sold in Spain and the chance of a market. April 
30, 1781, Butler & IMathews advise him that there has been no 
cargo of masts brought to Spain since the war. A mast 85 feet long 
and 30 inches in diameter is worth 650 Mexican dollars, while oak 
brings half a Mexican dollar per cubic foot. It is evident from these 
letters that Mr. Cabot had for some time had in mind shipping a 
cargo of masts and spars to Spain, and on IMarch 6, 1782, William 
Tuck - of Beverly was commissioned master of the ship Lyon of 400 
tons, 26 guns and 80 men. The Lyon with her cargo of masts sailed 
from Beverly May 6, 1782, and was captured the same day by the 
Blonde frigate and her crew transferred to that vessel. The Blonde 
was on her way to Halifax and May 10th was wrecked on Seal Island. 
Captain Tuck and his men for services rendered on that occasion 
were set free and Captain Thornbrough of the Blonde on his arrival 
at Halifax published this card in Nova Scotia Gazette: 

My warmest thanks are due to Capt. Tuck of the Blonde prize, Lyon, 
letter of marque from Beverly, and to all her officers and crew for their 

1 Ezra Ober (1747-1794), son of Richard and Lydia (Chapman) Ober. 

2 William Tuck (1740-1784), son of WilUam and Eliza (Sewall) Tuck. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 383 

generous and indefatigable endeavors to keep the ship from sinking. 
Night and day at the pumps until we got all but one man out of her. 

Edward Thornbrough, 
Commander of his Majesty's late ship Blonde. 

The capture of the Lyo7i by the Blonde and the subsequent wreck 
of the latter had a possible indirect effect on a naval action which 
occurred shortly after between the privateer Jack, Captain Ropes, 
and the English brig Observer, Lieutenant Cr\Tnes. In 1781, INI. de 
Barras, the French Admiral, detached two frigates, the Astree, 
commanded by INI. de la Perouse, and the Hermione, commanded 
by M. le Comte de la Touclie, to cruize along the coast of America 
from New York to Halifax. On July 21st, writes Captain Perouse 
to his Admiral: 

We saw a fleet 5 leagues to windward. I made signal to Hermione to 
chase and crowded sail. It was seven o'clock before the first gun was 
fired. I ordered M. de la Touche to follow at half musket shot distance 
and we advanced along the line of the enemy to leeward in order to cut 
them off. As we advanced the small squadron of the enemy fell into 
disorder. The Vulture crowded sail to get off, after a combat of ten 
minutes. Soon after the Jack struck her colors. At 8:15 the Charles- 
town having lost her main top mast followed the example of the Jack. 
The other vessels very roughly handled followed her example. The 
night came on and had every appearance of being very dark. I set 
my boat aboard the Jack and hailed Capt. de Touche to keep the 
Charlestown in sight. 

Captain Perouse then goes on to state that the Charlestown escaped 
in the darkness and the other English vessels were too near shore 
to be secured. 

The English account of the engagement is somewhat different. 
When sighted bj' the two French frigates. Captain Henry F. Evans, 
in command of a small squadron consisting of the Charlestown, 
Vulture, Allegiance, Vernon, Jack, and Thompson, was convoying a 
fleet of transports to Great Britain. Although his heaviest armed 
vessel, the Charlestown, mounted only 28 guns, in order to protect 
his convoy he drew up in line of battle and awaited the attack of 
the two heaw French frigates. The battle that ensued was soon 
ended by the darkness and the French vessels were glad to retire, 



384 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

their only prize being the Jack. Which account is correct is of no 
importance, as both agree that the Jox;lc surrendered. 

Captain Perouse returned to Boston with his prize and August 9, 
1781, the following advertisement appeared in a Boston paper: 

Will be sold by public vendue at the American Coffee House, the 
17th of August the fast sailing ship Jack built on the new construction 
plan, mounting 16 six- and nine-pounders. Everything ready for an 
immediate cruise. She was captured by H. M. C. M. ships Astrea and 
Hermione after being four or five days out and will be sold as she 
arrived from sea. 

In the same paper is an item stating that the Jack was formerly 
owned in Salem and was captured almost a year before while cruiz- 
ing with the Charlesiown, formerly the Boston, frigate. Another 
paper, the Boston Gazette of August 6, 1781, calls the Astrees prize, 
the Saucy Jack, formerly owned in Salem. Whether the prize Jack, 
was the late Salem privateer Jack of 130 tons, 14 guns and 75 men, 
commanded by Captain Nathan Brown, on petition of Jonathan 
Norris, or whether she was some other Salem privateer called the 
Saucy Jack, she was bought by Salem merchants at the auction 
and once more commissioned as the privateer Jack, Captain David 
Ropes. The Jack was commissioned September 6, 1781, and in the 
month of May of the following j^ear was cruizing near Halifax. 

The ship Blonde, as has been stated, was wrecked on Seal Island, 
but Captain Thornbrough and his men, as well as Captain Tuck 
and his crew, escaped to the shore. The Blonde was WTecked May 
10, 1782, and on May 12th Captain Daniel Adams of Beverly, while 
cruizing off Cape Sable in the privateer Lively, discovered the party 
on the Island. Captain Adams immediately sent a boat ashore to 
see what was required and followed it with this note: "It being ever 
my disposition to relieve the distressed more particularly those in 
your situation, I have sent my boat to your assistance and at the 
same time place my vessel at your service to carry you to the main- 
land, where you may provide yourself with a vessel to take your 
ship's company off the Island. Should be glad if you would come 
aboard and see me." The next day the Scammell, Captain Stoddard, 
joined the Lively and the two American captains made an arrange- 
ment with Thornbrough by which all those wrecked on the Island 





Ol C'Lau /i. ^^H-: «■ /^'aU »,- 



(" OM I'. AT 



,.,A, ,t, /;.i ('; (..r>« ;v y/.- (•■„'..»„ f . 







1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 385 

should be transported to Yarmouth, Cape Pursue, on the Scammell 
and the Lively, that Captain Tuck and his men should be free to 
go to Beverly and Captain Thornbrough and his crew to Halifax, 
and that each party should supply the other with a safe conduct 
against cruizers and privateers of their own nation. On his arrival 
at Yarmouth Captain Thornbrough hired a shallop and sailed for 
Halifax. News of his disaster had already reached that city and 
Lieutenant Crymes, Commander of the brig Observer, formerly the 
American privateer Amsterdam, Captain James Magee, now in the 
royal navy, was ordered to cruize towards Cape Sable, and if possible 
pick up Captain Thornbrough and his men. This the Observer did 
on the 28th of IVIay and while returning to Halifax was sighted by 
the privateer JacTc. 

It was six o'clock in the afternoon when the Jack sighted the 
Observer standing into the land and by nine o'clock the two vessels 
were along side. Under ordinary conditions the two vessels were 
very closely matched, the Observer carrying 16 six-pound guns and 
a crew of 73 men and the Jack 6 nine- and 9 six-pound guns and a 
crew of 63 men. The quality of the two crews, however, was very 
different. The Jack, like all our privateers in 1782, was largely 
manned by foreigners, men apt to be insubordinate and without the 
spur of patriotism, while the Observer had a crew trained in gunnery 
and schooled in the rigid discipline of a man of war. The original 
60 men, which constituted the crew of the Observer when she left 
Halifax, had just been reinforced by a portion of the crew of the 
Blonde, and the sight of Captain Thornbrough, stripped to his shirt, 
serving as a volunteer at one of the guns added to their enthusiasm. 
At the first broadside Captain Ropes fell, mortally wounded, and 
Lieutenant Grey, who assumed command, was slightly wounded in 
the hand and head. 

A close and severe action ensued and for two hours the Jack and 
Observer exchanged broadsides and plied each other with musketry 
until Lieutenant Grey, having lost heavily in killed and wounded 
and seeing his men flinch from the guns, attempted to make sail on 
the Jack and escape. "Our rigging was so destroyed," says Lieu- 
tenant Grey in his account of the action, "that not having command 
of our yards the Jack fell off with her larboard bow foul of the brig's 
starboard quarter. We were engaged thus a quarter of an hour in 



386 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

which time I received a wound bj^ a bayonet fixed in a musket, and 
u^hich was hurled with such force as entering the fore part of my 
thigh and passing close to the bone entered the carriage of a bow 
gun and it was out of my power to remove it." The two vessels 
lay side by side for some fifteen minutes, so close that boarding 
pikes were freely used, and then the Jack getting free from her 
opponent once more tried to escape. After a short running fight, 
the Observer got along side and at half-past one in the morning the 
Jack surrendered. 

The loss of the Jack in killed and wounded is reported by Lieutenant 
Crymes as 25 or nearly half the crew. Lieutenant Grey reports 7 
killed and 12 wounded. Among the killed were two Beverly men, 
Nathaniel Trask and Thomas Davis. Captain Ropes died as the 
two vessels entered the harbor. The loss of the Observer by the 
English account was 3 killed and 5 wounded, by the American 
account 10 killed and many wounded. 

The immediate cause of the loss of the Jack may be ascribed to 

the foreign element in the crew abandoning their guns and going 

below. " I had but ten men on deck and two of them wounded when 

I surrendered," writes Lieutenant Grey. The indirect cause was the 

reinforcement of the Observer s crew by Captain Thornbrough and 

his men, made possible by the unfortunate kindness and chivalry of 

the captains of the Lively and ScammeU. July 18, 1782, Captain 

William Grey and five of the crew of the Jack arrived at Salem in a 

cartel, having been treated with great kindness while at Halifax. 

The Jack was tried and condemned in the prize court at Halifax and 

identified as the vessel taken the previous year by the Astree and 

Eerviione} There is still a sequel to the story. A few months 

1 "Lucas Johnson, midshipman on board His Majesty's Ship Charlestown, 
being sworne declares that in the latter end of July last on their passages from 
Halifax to Spanish River in company with the Allegiance, Vulture and Jack 
and some transports under their convoy, being off of Spanish River, Seeing two 
French frigates, L'Astrca & Herniiorme to Leward, Captain Evans . . . order 'd 
the Deponent on board the Jack with orders to Capt. Tonge, . . . that the Jack 
was obhged to strike to the French frigates, and Deponent and the whole crew 
belonging to the Jack, were made prisoners and carried into Boston, that the 
Jack at that time carried ten nine pounders and four sixes, and was manned 
with sixty seven men, Richard Peter Tonge Commander, that the Deponent 
had seen the ship called the Jack (taken by Captain Cr\'mes) ... & knows 
her to be the same ship taken by L'Astrea & Hermioime" (Essex Institute Histor- 
ical Collections, xlv. 182-183). 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 387 

later, the Lively, Captain Adams, was taken by the EngHsh frigate 
Pandora and carried into New York. In recognition of his services 
to Captain Thornbrough, Captain Adams was treated with great 
kindness by Captain Ingalls of the Pandora and sent back to Boston. 
The last letter of marque commissioned in 1782 was the ship Fox 
of 100 tons, 8 guns and 20 men, owned by Benjamin Lovett and 
commanded by Israel Johnson. July 14, 1780, a brigantine Fox of 
8 guns and 15 men, owned by Benjamin Lovett and commanded by 
Israel Johnson, is also reported. Wliether the brigantine was re- 
rigged as a ship or whether there were two vessels named Fox 
belonging to the same owner, it is hard to tell. 

VII 

The treatment of American prisoners by the English during the 
War of the Revolution has been stigmatized by most American 
historians as cruel and contrary to the law of nations, but a close 
examination of the facts shows that the treatment was cruel or lenient 
according to the personal character of those in charge of the prisons 
and the peculiar conditions of the prisons themselves. The first 
disposition of the English was to treat the Americans as rebels and 
regard prisoners as subject to all the penalties of treason, but the 
magnitude of the revolt and still more the possession by the Americans 
of many English prisoners materially changed their views. After 
the retreat from Concord General Gage consented to an exchange 
of prisoners and General Carleton generously parolled those taken 
in the Quebec campaign. On August 13, 1775, General Gage, how- 
ever, having heard from England on the subject, wrote to Washing- 
ton refusing to allow to Americans the rights of prisoners of war. 
On December 18th Washington wrote to General Howe on the sub- 
ject of exchange and treatment of American prisoners, particularly 
in regard to the case of Ethan Allen who had been sent in irons to 
England. The case was referred by General Howe to the home au- 
thorities and on February 1, 1776, Lord George Germaine wrote to 
Howe that, while not advising a regular cartel, he hoped some plan 
would be devised for an exchange of prisoners including those taken 
in privateers. On Jul}" 22, 1776, Congress voted to allow Washington 
to exchange soldier for soldier, sailor for sailor, and officer for officer 
of equal rank, and on August 1st General Howe in a letter to Washing- 



388 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

ton agrees to this offer of exchange. From this time exchanges, 
despite an occasional friction, were conducted as in any foreign 
war. 

The great bulk of American prisoners were confined at Halifax 
(Nova Scotia), New York, and jMill Prison (Plymouth, England). At 
Halifax the prisoners seemed to have been fairly treated and loosely 
guarded. Mill Prison was a military prison under stern discipline, 
with all the discomforts and petty tjTannies which are apt to ac- 
company the herding together of large numbers of prisoners of war, 
but in the prison ships of New York the treatment of American 
prisoners was at times brutal and attended with a disgraceful and 
unnecessary mortality. 

Several books have been published giving personal experiences 
on the prison ships at New York. One of the most interesting is 
Captain Thomas Dring's Recollections of the Jersey Prison-Ship.^ 
The Jersey was originally a British ship of the line, but had been 
dismantled in 1780 and converted into a prison hulk. She was at 
first anchored in the East River, but later was taken to Long Island 
and moored in Waliabout Bay. Captain Dring apparently gives a 
very fair account of life aboard the Jersey. At the time of his capture 
he was master's mate aboard the privateer Chance, Captain Daniel 
Freeborn of Providence, Rhode Island, which was taken by the 
English ship Belisarius in 1782. On his arrival at New York he was 
sent aboard the Jersey. There was no distinction made on account 
of rank, officers and men occupied the same quarters and received 
the same food. Each prisoner received two-thirds of the regular 
allowance given the English sailors in the navy, one pound of beef 
or pork, one pound of bread and half a pint of peas, with butter, 
oatmeal, and suet occasionally. The rations were sufficient in quan- 
tity but apt to be of poor quality. The prisoners were allowed to 
drink all the water they wished at the casks on deck but were allowed 
to take only one pint below, and their meat was boiled in sea water. 
Their sufferings were aggravated by the cruelty of Jacob Strout, 



1 Recollections of the Jersej' Prison-Ship ; Taken and prepared for publication 
from the original manuscript of the late Captain Thomas Dring, of Providence, 
R. I., one of the prisoners. By Albert G. Greene, 1829. This was reprinted 
by Sidney S. Rider & Bro. in 1865. It was also reprinted, with notes by Henry 
B. Dawson, in 1865. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 389 

the Commissary of Prisoners, who was universally detested. Small- 
pox and Jersey fever were raging most of the time, as was natural 
where a thousand men dirty and low spirited were cooped up in a 
dark and ill ventilated hold. According to Captain Dring 10,000 
prisoners died on the Jersey and the hospital ships Scorpion, Strom- 
hol, and Hunter, during the war. 

Another account of life on the Jersey can be found in a book called 
Martyrs to the Revolution in the British Prison-Ships in the Wall- 
about Bay. The stories told in this book, written in-1855 by George 
Ta}'lor, are evidently greatly exaggerated. One statement is that 
when the American prisoners gathered at the open hatchway of the 
Jersey to get fresh air, the sentries would bayonet them from pure 
malice and often as many as twenty-five prisoners would be killed 
in one night. 

An interesting account of Mill Prison is given in Charles Herbert's 
Relic of the Revolution.^ Herbert was nineteen years of age when 
he sailed on the Dolfon, November 15, 1776. The Bolton soon 
after leaving port was taken by the English ship Reasonable and her 
crew transferred to the English vessel. While a prisoner aboard the 
Reasonable Herbert drew the rations of a British sailor, one pound 
of salt beef, one pound of bread, one pound of potatoes, and three 
pints of beer. On his arrival at Plymouth he was sent to Mill Prison 
where he received as rations one pound of bread, one-quarter pound 
of beef, one pound of greens, one quart of beer, and the water the 
beef was boiled in. According to Herbert the quantity was sufficient, 
though at times the beef was bad. The treatment given the prisoners 
was fair except in case of attempt to escape or other breach of discip- 
line. WhUe in prison he was visited September 25, 1778, by Captain 
Benjamin Ellingwood of Beverly, who had been taken prisoner the 
previous year on the schooner Friendship but who had been exchanged 



1 A Relic of the Revolution, ... By Charles Herbert, of Newburyport, 
Mass. Who was taken prisoner in the Brigantine Dolton, Dec, 1776, and served 
in the U. S. Frigate AlUance, 1779-80. 1847. This was compiled by R. Livesey, 
though his name is not on the title-page. In a later impression, dated 1854, 
the title was changed to "The Prisoners of 1776; A Rehc of the Revolution. Com- 
piled by the Rev. Richard Livesey from the Journal of Charles Herbert, of New- 
buryport, Mass., who was taken prisoner in the brigantine Dolton, Dec. 1776, 
and confined in Old Mill Prison, Plymouth, England." The text of the two 
impressions appears to be identical, though the pagination is different. 



390 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

and was now on his way home. He gives a list of those confined 
in Mill Prison in 1778 and only one Beverly man is mentioned, 
Benjamin Chipman. On his escape or release, Herbert made his 
way to France and shipped on board the Alliance, making two cruizes 
in the squadron commanded by John Paul Jones. His commander 
on the Alliance was Captain Peter Landais, whose dubious conduct 
in the battle between the Serapis and the Bon Homme Richard is a 
matter of history.^ 

Another interesting account of prison lite Is given in John Blatch- 
ford's Narrative.^ Blatchford, then fifteen years of age, was cabin 
boy on the Continental frigate Hancock, Captain Manly, which was 
taken by the English frigate Rainbow in 1777 and carried into Halifax. 
On his arrival at Halifax Blatchford was sent to the prison, formerly 
a sugar house, where he found the building crowded and the food 
insufficient and of poor quality. Soon after his arrival he planned 
with others to escape, but was betrayed by one of the prisoners 
and put in irons. Some weeks later he was allowed to walk around 
with his wrists manacled, and meeting the informer he withdrew 
one hand from the irons and struck the man to the ground. For 
this breach of discipline he was impressed on board the frigate Grey- 
hound and a few months later, in company with other Americans, 
attempted to desert. They were discovered and a struggle ensued 
in which an English sentry was killed. On the Greyhound's return 
to port, Blatchford was tried for murder and acquitted, but it was 



^ The following extract from the Nathan Dane Papers, dated Beverly, Decem- 
ber 2, 1781, shows that one man at least from Beverly served on the Bon Homme 
Richard and Alliance: 

I, John Carrisco of Beverly, in the County of Essex, State of Mass., Mariner, 
constitute and appoint Nathan Dane my Attorney and hereby empower him 
to receive my wages and prize money due to me as a mariner on board the Good 
Z.Ian Richard, J. J. Jones, Commander, and also on board the Alliance, Peter 
Landais, Esq., Commander." his 

Larkin Thorndikej^.^^^gggg John Cakisco 

John Thorndike j mark 

^ Narrative of Remarkable Occurrences, In the Life of John Blatchford, 
Of Cape-Ann, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, . . . Taken from his own 
mouth. M, DCC, LXXX, VIII. In 186.5 Charles I. Bushnell published an 
edition, with notes, entitled "The Narrative of John Blatchford, retailing His 
sufferings in the Revolutionary War, while a Prisoner with the British. As 
related by himself." 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 391 

thought best to get rid of him and he was shipped on board the 
East Indiaman Princess Royal, where he found thirty- two Americans 
all bound to the East Indies as a punishment for rebellion.^ On 
their arrival at Sumatra he and the other Americans disembarked 
and found themselves forced to serve in the British army. Again 
he attempted with others to escape and again a sentry was killed 
and he and his friends retaken. For this he was sentenced to receive 
eight hundred lashes on his bare back, "but," he writes, "the whip 
was made of cotton with the knots cut off, so it was no worse than 
being whipped with cotton yarn." After numerous other adventures 
he escaped to France and made his way to L'Orient where he found 
three i^i'ivateers from Beverly in port, the Cicero, Buccanier, and 
Revolution. "1 entered," he continues, "on board the Buccanier, 
Capt. Phearson, and sailed on a cruize. We were out 18 days and re- 
turned with six prizes. Thi'ee days after we received news of peace, 
the privateer was dismantled and Capt. Phearson sailed on a merchant 
voyage to Norw^ay. I then entered on a brig bound to Lisbon, Capt. 
Ellingwood of Beverly, and arrived in eight days. We took on a 
cargo of salt and arrived back at Beverly, May 9th 1783." 

Another book, too vituperative to be of much authority, is entitled 
"The Destructive Operation of Foul Air, Tainted Provisions, Bad 
Water and Personal Filthiness upon the human Constitutions; 
exemplified in the unparalleled Cruelty of the British to the American 
Captives at New York during the Revolutionary War, on board 
their Prison and Hospital Ships in a communication to Dr. Mit- 
chill, dated September 4, 1807."^ The tenor of Captain Alexander 
Coffin's book may be inferred from one sentence: "If you were to 
rake the infernal regions I doubt whether you will find another 
set of demons such as the officers and men who had charge of tlie 
Jersey prison ship in the Summer of 1782."^ 



* On April 2, 1777, Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane wrote to the English 
ambassador at Paris calling attention to the fact that American prisoners were 
being employed in English ships to fight against their own people and also sent 
to distant ports where they stood httle chance of being exchanged. 

2 Edited by Charles I. Bushnell in 1865. 

' Some other accounts may be mentioned. 

An Account of the Interment of the Remains of 11,500 American Seamen, 
Soldiers and Citizens, who fell victims to the cruelties of the British, on board 
their prison ships at the Wallabout, During the American Revolution. 1808. 



392 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

The above extracts show more or less truthfull}' what our American 
prisoners had to suffer in the jails and prison ships of the enemy, 
and some evidence will now be given which partly exonerates the 
English from these serious charges. Both Captain Coffin and Cap- 
tain Dring were confined on the Jersey in the year 1782. June 
3rd of the same j^ear a number of American captains, many of them 
well known in Beverly and Salem, before leaving New York on pa- 
role, issued this statement : 

We whose names are hereunto subscribed, masters of American vessels 
which have been captured by English cruisers and brought into this 
port, having obtained the enlargement of parole from his Excellency 
Rear Admhal Digby to return to our respective homes, being anxious 
before our departure to know the real state of the prisoners confined on 



This was reprinted with notes by Dr. Henry R. Stiles in 1865 in The Wallabout 
Prison Ship Series, No. 2. 

Memoirs of Andrew Sherburne (2d ed., 1831), pp. 81-98, 109-119. 

The Old Jersej' Captive: or a Narrative of the Captivity of Thomas Andrea 
(now pastor of the church in Berkley,) on board the Old Jersey Prison Ship at 
New York, 1781. 1833. 

Review. The Tomb of the Martyrs, who died in dungeons and pestilential 
prison-ships, in and about the City of New-York, during the seven years of our 
Revolutionary War. By Benjamin Romaine, . . . 4th July, 1839. 

The Adventures of Christopher Hawkins, . . . ^^'ith ao Introduction and 
Notes by Charles I. Bushnell. 1864. (Written in 1834.) 

Letters from the Prisons and Prison-Ships of the Revolution. With Notes 
by Henry R. Stiles, M. D. (The Wallabout Prison-Ship Series, No. 1.) 

A Memoir of EU Biclcford, a Patriot of the Revolution. 1865. (Containa 
"The Prison-Ship Jersej'. By Charles I. Bushnell," pp. 13-15.) 

1888. A Christmas Reminder. Being the names of above eight thousand 
persons, a small portion of the number confined on board the British prison 
ships during the War of the Revolution. With the Compliments of the Society 
of Old Brookljmites. 1888. 

Horrors of the Prison Ships. Dr. [Charles E.] West's Description of the Wal- 
labout Floating Dungeons. How Captive Patriots Fared. 1895. 

1776 Prison Ship Martyr Captain Jabez Fitch His Diary in Facsimile (1897 
or 1903?) 

Historical Society, Eliot, Maine, January, 1900. Old Mill Prison. Henry W. 
Fernald, Boston, Mass. 

American Prisoners of the Revolution. By Danske Dandridge, . . . 
Charlottesville, Va., 1911. This is a book of ix, 504, pages, a bibliography being 
printed on pp. 503-504. 

See also the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, xix. 74-75, 
136-141, 209-213 (List of Americans committed to Old Mill Prison during the 
War), xxxii. 42-44, 184-188, 305-308, 395-398 (Journal of Samuel Cutler). 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 393 

board the prison ships and hospitals, appointed sLx of our number to go 
on board the prison ships for that purpose, and said Committee have 
gone on board five of them and do report, that they have found them 
as comfortable as is possible at this season of the year and much more 
so than they had any idea of. 

That they inspected the beef, pork, flour, bread, vegetables and hquors 
which is found aboard his IMajesty's vessels and found them good of their 
kind, and the prisoners acknowledge that they had no complaint to 
make but the want of clothes and a speedy exchange. 

Robert Harris Charles Collins 

Philemon Haskell Jonathan Carnes 

Christopher Smith John Chase 

Daniel Aborn Richard Mugford 

Robert Clifton John M'Ewer 

Dr. Joseph Bowen 

The signers further state that the American prisoners in the hospital 
ships have good beds and not cots, with clean sheets of Russia linen 
and plenty of fresh provisions and wine. 

While this is the e^'idence of men who had inspected and not lived 
on the Jersey, still the signers were men of too much intelligence 
and character to be entirely deceived or wilfully mistaken. Two of 
their number, Daniel Aborn and Dr. Joseph Bowen, at Admiral 
Digby's request took a letter from Commissary General Strout 
to Washington explaining that owing to the heat and overcrowding 
of the prison ships, due to a large influx of prisoners, all his efforts 
to keep the prisoners healthy were baflSed, though five more ships 
had been taken for the purpose, and many set free on parole. On 
this account he asked an immediate and general exchange. At this 
time the Americans owed the English 1300 naval prisoners, whom 
they had set free on parole and the English owed the Americans 450 
soldiers. Admiral Digby suggested an exchange of sailors for soldiers, 
but Washington refused on the ground that he was empowered 
only to exchange soldier for soldier and directed David Skinner, 
Commissary General on the American side, to 'WTite Admiral Digby 
to that effect. Thus on a technicality a number of American naval 
prisoners remained shut up in New York prison ships though the Brit- 
ish were anxious to exchange. 

It is probable that the balance of naval prisoners was against the 



394 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Americans during the whole war. An American privateer was under 
bonds to bring back its prisoners to this country/ but the danger of 
capture was always greatest on the coast line, the chance of being 
detained in the home port by embargo was great, and it was much 
safer and more economical to put the prisoners on some worthless 
prize and let them go free than to bring them back to America. Many 
prisoners were taken into France by American privateers cruizing 
on the Irish coast or in the English channel, but these prisoners 
were then counted to the French. Most of the prizes taken by the 
English, on the other hand, were by frigates or other large vessels 
of war where the question of economy or safety did not enter and their 
prisoners were carried into port. November 15, 1777, Congress had 
ordered a bounty of $20 to be paid to officers and men for every 
cannon captured on any vessel and S8 for every prisoner. Had 
the bounty offered by the government to privateers and letter of 
marque vessels for prisoners delivered in America been sufficient 
to make this an object, many of our sailors suffering in English 
prisons might have been released. There seems no reason to accuse 
the English of unwillingness to exchange prisoners after August, 
1776. Occasionally there were disputes and accusations of ill treat- 
ment or bad faith on either side, but as a rule relations were pleasant. 

As to the treatment of American prisoners by the English there 
is no doubt that there were cases of cruelty and overcrowding, and 
the conditions on the New York prison ships were at times disgrace- 
ful, but any one who has had charge of hospitals or other large institu- 
tions knows how readily false stories are started and petty wrongs 
magnified. Prisoners certainly cannot be blamed for trying to escape, 
nor can jailors be blamed for punishing such attempts, and most 
of the stories of cruelty followed some breach of discipline. 

As to the food furnished it seems to have been of about the same 
quality, though less in quantity, as that furnished to English sailors 
on English ships, where weevily biscuit and tainted meat were a 
matter of frequent occurrence. The impressment of American 



^ It is doubtful whether these bonds were often enforced, and, even if col- 
lected, they were too small for the purpose. The bond of the schooner Hammond, 
for example, was for £ 300 signed by Jacob Oliver as principal and Robert Shilla- 
ber as surety, that all prisoners taken at sea would be brought back into port 
for exchange. (Revolutionary Rolls, ^nii. 4.) 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 395 

seamen on English men of war was a just cause of complaint and 
many Americans were undoubtedly compelled to fight against their 
own country and her allies, but for every American thus impressed 
probably ten English sailors were persuaded to serve on American 
privateers. True, impressment and voluntary service are different, 
but there was no way by which an English officer could tell what 
means were used to enlist English men on American vessels. Not 
only were our privateers largely manned by prisoners and deserters, 
but our Continental and State vessels sought recruits from the same 
source. In 1778 the Navy Board of Massachusetts in a letter to the 
Council wrote: "Beg leave to represent that seamen are much needed 
for manning the Continental vessels. We are informed there are 
among the prisoners now here, a number of Swedes, Dutch and 
some English prisoners who would readily enter the service. That 
we conceive it would help the public service to permit all the for- 
eigners and a few of the English to enter on board the Continental 
ships." It must be remembered too that many American prisoners, 
weary of prison life, voluntarily enlisted on British ships and their 
home explanation of their service on a hostile vessel would naturally 
be impressment. 

The treatment of English prisoners by the Americans was better 
than that of American prisoners by the English because with us 
there was no such necessity as existed in New York for the concentra- 
tion of large numbers of prisoners in one prison or ship. Many 
of the English officers were parolled or allowed to go to New York 
to arrange their own exchanges. Some were boarded out in country 
villages and allowed the freedom of the town. Occasionally, on 
complaints of sufferers in English prisons, retaliation was practised 
and officers and men were ironed and treated with considerable 
severity. On January 2, 1781, the Massachusetts Council passed 
the following order: 

Whereas there are a number of American prisoners in the Prison Ships 
at New York treated with more than Savage Barbarity and that in 
consequence of Such Treatment Numbers of said Prisoners have died 
and are Dying. . . . Therefore, ordered that the Hon. Navy Board be 
and hereby are requested immediately to order the Commissary of 
Prisoners to remove the prisoners from Noodle's Island on board the 
prison ship in the harbour of Boston, and all marine prisoners that are 



396 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

at large in the town of Boston, and confine them m the hold of Said 
Ship and treat them in a similar manner as the American prisoners are 
treated in the Prison Ships of N. York until a different conduct is 
observed by the Enemy. ^ 

Many of the English prisoners were bound out for service. This 
was particularly so in the case of the Hessians captured at Benning- 
ton, some being employed in the salt works at Sandwich and others 
bound out to private parties as servants, blacksmiths, cordwainers, 
and farm hands. Complaints of cruelty and ill usage were common. 
The New York Mercury of May 22, 1782, has this item: "A number 
of prisoners, mostly seamen, arrived from Philadelphia yesterday. 
All complain loudly of their treatment in captivity. A great part 
of the time they were fed on dried clams. Fifteen clams and ten 
ounces of bread being a day's allowance." 

Cartels were continually passing betvreen English and American 
ports and as these vessels were necessarily unarmed and weakly 
manned, occasionally the prisoners on board would make the voyage 
an unpleasant one for their nominal jailors. Under date of January 
23, 1782, several Beverly gentlemen make the following deposition: 

We, Edward Allen, Isaac Haskell, Benj. Woodberry and Thomas Ginn, 
all of lawful age, testify that we were ofiicers on board the sloop, Tryall, 
a flag of truce lately arrived St. Lucie, said Allen being Commander. 
We sailed from Boston October 21, with 31 English prisoners aboard. 
About the third day they became very insolent and took all our small 
stores out of the cabin and were very abusi^-e. "\Mien a barrel of beef 
was opened they would take the best part of it and they wasted the 
bread and threw part of it into the sea. 

The trade carried on between Nova Scotia and Massachusetts 
under the pretext of the removal of families has already been referred 
to, but the return of escaped and parolled prisoners, greatly facil- 
itated by this trade, w^as a matter of more importance. American 
prisoners at Halifax were loosely guarded and often escaped or were 
parolled. In either case they often made their way to Yarmouth 
or Barrington and w^ere there treated with kindness and furnished 
transportation to their homes. A small vessel conveyed them to 
some Massachusetts port and the cargo of dried fish or salt, which 

^ Massachusetts Archives, clxxvii. 301. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 397 

always accompanied these expeditions, was sold after petition to 
the Council. These petitions were always accompanied by letters 
of recommendation from escaped prisoners they had aided. One 
of the letters used by Benjamin Brown of Yarmouth, a frequent 
visitor to Beverly, was as follows : 

That about the fifth of November last I had the misfortune to fall 
into the hands of the enemy and having my liberty to walk about at 
Halifax, Mr. Benj. Brown carried me with Mr. Dugan and Ephriam 
Lacky to Yarmouth and there entertained us at his own expense about 
one week and then procurred us a passage to the States. I have been 
credibly informed that said Brown has treated all the prisoners he could 
find in the same hospitable way. I saw a certificate of this kind in said 
Brown's possession, signed by Capt. Stevens, his oflEicers and men. I 
am confident Brown is a friend to the liberties of America and entitled 
to any favor the Hon. Court sees fit to bestow on him. 

Signed at Beverly, John Ashton, late Commander of schooner 
Hampden. 

Another certificate, signed by well known Beverly men, was used 
by Thomas Flint, also a frequent visitor to Beverly : 

Capersaw, Oct. 24th 1778, the Subscribers have been taken prisoners 
and carried to Halifax and was Issisted away to this place by Thomas 
Flint and Supported while in this place and we Suscribers would be 
glad if the Gentlemen of the Court take the Same in Consideration and 
Grant same Thomas Flint Such Favor as will help him. 

Joseph Stewert, Eleazer Giles, 

John Herrick, Benj. Very, 

James Herrick, Nathaniel Batchelder. 

The year 1781 had been very disastrous to the owners of private 
armed vessels and in the latter part of the year George Williams 
of Salem and sixty-one other merchants petitioned the General 
Court, stating that it was the opinion of the seaport towns of Massa- 
chusetts that the trading Nova Scotians coming to this country 
caused information of the force, number and destination of their 
armed vessels and proposed voyages of merchant vessels to be con- 
veyed to the enemy and through such information they have lost 
the greater part of their most valuable privateers. " Your petitioners 
therefor ask, if you think it expedient, to put a stop to all such per- 



398 THE COLONL^L SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

missions and direct the Naval Officer and Selectmen to make search 
in each town of the State and apprehend as prisoners of war all 
Nova Scotians that may be among us, that they may be exchanged 
for our townsmen and others suffering on board of Brittish Guard 
Ships." The General Court assented and for a time and to some 
extent carried out the spirit of the petition. 

There is no doubt that the Nova Scotians did carry information 
to the enemy, nor can we blame them. They also gave information 
to the Americans and helped their seamen to escape, and in the 
unfortunate position in which they were placed they were obliged 
to help both parties. That the profit was greater than the injury 
was the opinion of many, and a petition headed by William Tuck 
of Beverly, late commander of Mr. Cabot's ship Lyon, and signed 
by Francis Cabot, and 161 others, asking that trade with Yarmouth 
and Barrington be renewed, was sent to the General Court. This 
petition of William Tuck — 

Humbly Showeth that the ship Lyon lately fell into the hands of the 
enemy. The Blonde frigate which captured her was wrecked upon the 
Seal Islands from which Company, Consisting of about Sixty Men in 
all, made their escape to Yarmouth, Cape Forsen, in Nova Scotia, where 
the Inhabitants Received and entertained us very kindly for four days 
during Which they fitted out three Small Vessels with provisions neces- 
sary for the purpose and Brout Said Tuck & Co. and a number of other 
prisoners, to the Amount of about 100 in all, Safe to this Commonwealth. 
This friendly act was a Great favor to us and particularly so when we 
consider the Extreme Sufferings of a Great Number of our Brothers on 
Board the English Prison Ships. 

The petition then goes on to state the condition of the people of 
Yarmouth, unable to sell their fish in the States or obtain things 
necessary for their comfort, and calls attention to the fact that they 
will be unable in the future to help American prisoners unless they 
can dispose of their fish in Massachusetts. 

This petition was accompanied by one from Thomas Flint, Ben- 
jamin Brown, and James Kelly who — 

Humbly show that in the beginning of May last, the British frigate 
Blonde was wrecked on Seal Island. At which time Said Ship had a 
large number of American prisoners on board who Got permission to 
return home but destitute of every kind of support. Your petitioners, 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 399 

Inhabitants of Cape persue, being Owners of three Small Shallops, 
fitted them out and brought Said Americans to the States to the number 
of 65 and supported tliem all for twelve days at their Own expense. 
And as Your Petitioners have not been able to obtain even a Replace- 
ment of the provisions expended in the service of returning 65 seamen 
to this State, they Humbly pray the Hon. Court to take Premises into 
their wise Consideration and direct that such Allowances be made as 
to Right and Justice shall appertain. 

The Council granted them twelve days ration for 65 men and 
permission to retm'n to Nova Scotia. It is to be hoped that the 
merchants of Beverly made them some acknowledgement for their 
services as the allowance by the State seems rather small. From 
this time trade was resumed, but not with the good will of former 
years, and in 1782 David Corning, so often mentioned, while bring- 
ing fourteen American prisoners to the States was taken by the 
privateer Fly of Salem and sent in as a prize. The General Court, 
however, ordered her release and gave Corning permission to return 
to Nova Scotia. 

The number of Beverly seamen made prisoners during the war 
must have been large, but the record is very deficient. A few in- 
complete reports of English prisons, local tradition, and scattered 
mentions in the newspapers of the day and the Massachusetts Ar- 
chives, are all we have to rely on. The following incomplete and 
unsatisfactory list includes only marine prisoners claiming residence 
in Beverly. Probably the first Beverly man made prisoner in the 
w^ar was Andrew Gage. He was taken on some unknown Beverly 
vessel in 1775 and confined in or impressed on some unknown English 
ship. On June 22, 1778, the Selectmen of Beverly and Elizabeth 
Gage petitioned for permission to sell land belonging to Andrew 
Gage as he was still detained. 

In the Nathan Dane Papers is a deposition so curious that we 
transcribe it, although the deponent was not a marine prisoner 
though a mariner, 

I, James Gray of Beverly in the County of Essex, in the State of 
Mass. Do Say and Declare that I Inlisted in the Continental Service in 
1775, a Years Service under Capt. Nathan Brown of this County, Israel 
Hutchinson Esq. Colonel — Jepson Clough, Ensign. I was marched 
from Winter Hill to New London and thence to Fort Washington wheir 



400 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [JAN. 

we was made Captives and Carried to N.York and there Suffered 
Severity more than flesh could Bare. 1st Day after we was marched 
to N.York, I, amongst a Great Number, was taken Sick and a Very 
Mortifying sickness it Proved to many. I was carried to the Quaker 
Meeting house, the Improvised Hospittle, where the most died that was 
taken with that Distemper. I was unable to be exchanged on account 
of my Being in two Shocking Condition. But I am left to remember 
the Seen Underwent as well as my Brother Soldiers. I was four years 
in a PitteyfuU Condition. At last I got away and Feb. 7, 1780 aRived 
at Salem. From Whence, The 16th day of the month following, I went 
to Uncle William Gray, who I was his apprentice. The Appearance of 
me, to him and they and the town was as One Rose from the Dead. 
Tarred with him about a fortnite, then went to see with Capt. Samuel 
Foster, Returned in three months and Set up my trade in Beverly as 
painter and glazer. 

One of the first privateers commissioned by the State was the 
Yankee Hero, Captain Tracy, of Newburj^port. She was taken 
by an English frigate May 30, 1776, and one at least of her crew, 
James Mecomb, was from Beverly. The crew of the Yankee Hero 
returned on a cartel November 8, 1776.^ 

In 1776 the ship Thomas, belonging to Thomas Stephens of Beverly, 
on a voyage from Beverly for Baltimore, laden with a cargo of rum 
and sugar, was taken by a British cruizer and her captain, Robert 
Standly, made prisoner .^ 

The same year, 1776, precise date unknown, Osmond Thorndike 
was taken on the Peggy by the letter of marque ship Dunmore. He 
was exchanged in December, 1776.^ 

Captain Benjamin Leach of Manchester, at one time a resident 
of Beverly, was taken on a prize of the privateer Hawk in 1777 and 
soon after exchanged.'* 

Richard Dyson and Jonathan Parsons, mariners on some privateer, 
were sent home from New York on the cartel brig Rising Empire 
in 1777, no exact date given. ^ 

Daniels Adams, 1st lieutenant on the brigantine Freedom, Captain 



1 Massachusetts Archives, cxxvi. 226. 

2 Force, 5 American Archives, iii. 602. 

3 Revolutionary Rolls, ix. 74. 

* Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Families of Boston. 
^ Revolutionary Rolls, ix. 68. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 401 

Clouston, was taken by the frigate Apollo and confined on the prison 
ship Good Content in New York harbor in 1777. He remained there 
one year before he was exchanged. In 1782 when in command of 
the schooner Lively he was taken by the frigate Pandora, Captain 
Ingles, and sent into New York. He was detained only a short 
time.^ 

Benjamin Ellingwood, captain of the schooner Friendship, was 
taken by the letter of marque Tom, December 26, 1777, and carried 
into England, but was released on exchange the next year.^ 

John Ashton was prize master on the privateer brigantine Washing- 
ton and while in command of one of her prizes, the snow Friendship, 
was taken by a British cruizer and carried into Halifax. He was 
exchanged June 28, 1777. In 1778 while in command of the schooner 
Hampden of Salem he was again taken prisoner and taken into Hali- 
fax, parolled, and returned to Beverly by the kind offices of Benjamin 
Brown of Yarmouth. He is reported as taken again while in com- 
mand of the brigantine Neptune in 1779.^ 

The privateer Retaliation of Beverly was taken in the autumn 
of 1777 and on April 16, 1778, the cartel Industry was directed to 
bring back from Halifax Captain Eleazer Giles, Lieutenant Benjamin 
Joy, Dr. Elisha Wliitney, Thomas Darly, and William INIoses. Elislia 
Whitney was surgeon on the Retaliation, and though at this time 
was not a resident of Beverly became so later.* 

September 30, 1778, a cartel from Halifax brought Andrew Pea- 
body, Joseph Foster, Thomas Giles, Elisha Ellinwood, and Andrew 
Peabody. The last name appears twice. An Andrew Peabody of 
Beverly was taken on the ship Essex in 1781, presumably one of the 
two mentioned.^ 

A testimonial dated October 24, 1778, signed by Joseph Stewert, 
John Herrick, James Herrick, Nathaniel Batchelder, Eleazer Giles, 
and Benjamin Very, shows that they were prisoners in Halifax 
in the early autumn of 1778. They were all probably part of the 
crew of the Retaliation.^ 



1 Massachusetts Archives, cliii. 67. 

2 New York Gazette and Mercury, February 2, 1778. 
' Massachusetts Archives, cxxv. 149. 

< Revolutionary Rolls, ix. 49. 

6 New England Historical and Genealogical Register, xix. 74. 

* Massachusetts Archives, clxxxiv. 34. 



402 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

One of the testimonials used by Mr. Brown of Yarmouth was 
signed by Benjamin Ives, Thomas Stephens, and William Groves 
all Beverly men, prisoners in Halifax in 1777-1778. Thomas Stephens 
was 1st lieutenant of the privateer Retaliation and later commander 
of the schooner Hammond. Benjamin Ives was captain of the 
privateer schooner Scorpion and the letter of marque brigantine 
Fortune. William Groves was probably taken prisoner while in 
command of the privateer schooner Blackbird. Later he commanded 
the brigantine Success, the sloop Fish Haivk, and the brig Eagle.'^ 

The privateer Warren of Beverl}' was taken by the English ship 
Fanny, January 6, 1778, and Benjamin Chipman, the only Beverly 
man recorded among the prisoners, was committed to Mill Prison 
June 4, 1778. He afterwards escaped. 

The brigantine Rambler was captured by the English frigate 
Sibyl, October 21, 1779, and one of her crew, Michael Downs, a 
Beverly man, was committed to Mill Prison, February 16, 1780. 

The brig Eagle was taken June 21, 1780, and William Haskell, 
Alexander Carrico, and George Groce, of the crew, were committed 
to Mill Prison. William Haskell was committed July 5, 1781, Alex- 
ander Carrico and George Groce February 6, 1782. The commander 
of the Eagle, William Groves, with Curtis Woodberry, William 
Morgan, Henry Tuck, Joseph Woodberry and probably other Beverly 
men, must also have been taken on the same vessel. 

From the ship Esse.x, taken June 10, 1781, Joseph Perkins, Levi 
Woodberry, Robert Raymond, Matthew Chambers, and Andrew 
Peabody were all committed to jMill Prison July 21, 1781. James 
Lovett and Benjamin Sprague of the same vessel, August 5, 1781. 

John Tuck, Thomas Hadden, Josiah Foster, Hezkiah Thissel, 
Nathaniel Woodberry, and Zebulon Ober, of the snow Diana taken 
June 15, 1781, were committed to Mill Prison January 23, 1782. 

William Haskell of Beverly is reported as having been taken on 
the brig English and carried to Quebec. He was committed to INIill 
Prison July 23, 1781. 

The ship Resource, Captain Richard Ober, was taken by a British 
cruizer in the autumn of 1780. There is a list of the officers and 
crew dated September 11, 1780, and it is probable that all those 



Massachusetts Archives, cxxv. 419. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 403 

mentioned were on the vessel at the time of her capture and made 
prisoners: Richard Ober captain, Andrew Thorndike 1st mate, 
Samuel Cressy ^ 2nd mate, John Waters, Andrew Ober, John Woodby, 
Jacob Woodby, Andrew Woodby, Thomas Woodby, Ebenezer 
Woodby, John Lovett, Nathan Thorn, Jacob Thompson, John 
Savage, Thomas Harris, Thomas Ober, David Allen, Richard Ober, 
Riciiard Thorn, Nicholas Thorndike, John Rea, Joseph Ray, and 
Andrew Woodman, all of Beverly. The Resource was bound for 
the West Indies and her crew was carried into Jamaica. 

Ebenezer Ray was impressed on board the frigate Pelican, com- 
manded by Captain Collingwood, afterwards second in command 
at the battle of Trafalgar. In August, 1781, the Pelican was wrecked 
and her crew escaped to a small uninhabited island where they 
remained ten days until rescued by the Diamond frigate and carried 
back to Jamaica. Ray was confined on another man-of-war from 
which he managed to escape and for twenty-five days wandered, 
half starved, about the island. Finally he got aboard a Spanish 
cartel about to sail for Havana, and on her arrival at that port took 
passage on a brig to Boston. On the voyage the vessel was taken 
by an English cruizer and Ray was carried into New York and con- 
fined on the New Jersey, In May, 1782, he was exchanged and re- 
turned to Beverly. 

Stephen Roundy was taken on the ship Haivk, Captain Smith, 
in 1780. He was taken to New York and impressed on board the 
Conqueror, where he continued to serve until peace was declared. 
The story is told of him that after some battle in which the Americans 
were worsted, a British ofl5cer sneeringly asked him, "What do you 
think of King Washington now?" "I think he is a gentleman" 
was the answer. 

The brig Black Princess was a Dunkirk privateer, commissioned 
by Franklin and the other commissioners of Paris. Some papers 
in the Essex Institute indicate that she was originally a Salem vessel, 
but in 1781 she sailed from Dunkirk with a crew consisting largely 
of English deserters. She was very successful and before her capture, 
October 11, 1781, had taken 36 prizes. There were several Salem 
and Marblehead men aboard, and one man, John Baker, from Bev- 
erly, who on October 20, 1781, was committed to Mill Prison. 

1 Samuel Cressy (1751-1782), son of Benjamin and Mehitable (Brown) Cressy. 



404 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

The brigantine Gen. Wayne, Captain John Leach of Beverly, 
on a voyage to the West Indies, was taken by a British cruizer in 
1780 and carried to Bermuda. Captain Leach either escaped or was 
parolled, as he arrived back at Boston September 5, 1780.^ 

The Gen. Gates was taken by the British cruizer Ho'pe, no date 
given. Benjamin Bickford and Nathaniel Wallace are reported 
captured. John Bickford, steward of the Gen. Gates, was also taken. 
The latter was returned to Marblehead on the cartel Pacific. 

Jonathan Larcom is said to have been captured on the brigantine 
Neptune, Captain John Ashton, in 1779. 

The brigantine Defence of Beverly was taken October 2, 1781, 
by the English ship Chatham, and the following Beverly men were 
taken prisoners : John Edmands captain, Captain Jonathan Carwick 
1st mate, John Pickett carpenter, John Wilkins gunner, Stephen 
Costello, John Bray, James Babson, John Gage, Daniel Batchellor, 
William Allen. 

There were a number of vessels commanded by Beverly captains 
taken by British cruizers during the war, where no particulars were 
given as to oflBcers and crew, though doubtless manned to some 
extent by Beverly men. The list is as follows: 



Brig Spit Fire 


Capt. John Patten 


Taken 


in 


1780 


Brigantine Active 


U It l( 






1781 


Brigantine Fanmj 


Capt. Herbert Woodberry 






1781 


Ship Commerce 


Capt. Stephen Webb 






1781 


Sloop Fish ifawk 


Capt. Samuel Foster 






1781 


Ship Sebastian 


Capt. Ichabod Groves 






1780 


Ship Mohock 


Capt. John Carnes 






1782 


Ship Lyon 


Capt. William Tuck 






1782 


Brigantine Swift 


Capt. Israel Johnson 






1782 


Unknown brig 


Capt. Andrew Thorndike 






1782 



Benjamin and Isaac Chapman, Thomas Giles, Benjamin Giles, 
Thomas Davis, and Nathaniel Trask were taken prisoners with 
Capt. Thorndike. 

The number of Beverly mariners taken prisoners during the war, 
as chronicled above, was 108. Some of them were taken prisoner 
two or three times, and the number of those actually taken prisoners 
is no doubt much greater than the number of those known to have 
been taken prisoners. The writer believes from careful computa- 

1 Massachusetts Archives, clxxvii. 63. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 405 

tion that two-thirds of the male population of Beverly between 
the ages of eighteen and sixty were at one time or another prisoners 
to the English. 

VIII 
In the foregoing sections the private armed vessels of Beverly have 
been treated collectively and some passed over lightly. At the risk 
of repetition, they have in this section been arranged alphabetically 
with some particulars added not considered necessary when telling 
their story. 

Active 
Brigantine Active, 120 tons, 10 guns and 25 men. Letter of marque. On 
petition of Job Prince and others of Boston, Benjamin Ellingwood commissioned 
master May 5, 1780. Bond signed by Job Prince and William Creed as owners. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 148.) 

Brigantine Active, same tonnage and force. Officers and men on board the 
brig Active as taken by the captain the day of his sailing from Beverly for Gotten- 
burg July 10, 1780, Samuel Cabot, agent: 

Benjamin Ellingwood captain Born in Beverly and remains there 

in Marblehead and remains in Beverly 
in Beverly and remains in Beverly 
in Beverly and remains in Beverly 
in Liverpool and remains in Beverly 
in Beverly and remains in Beverl}^ 
in Glasgow and remains in Beverly 
in Beverly and remains in Beverly 
in Bristol and remains in Salem 



John Hammond 1st mate 
Thomas Butman 2nd mate 
Daniel Trask steward 
William Gard gunner 
Israel Trask cook 
James Murray boatswain 
Joseph Weeks 
John Bously 



Others from Milton, Mistick, and Boothbay. (Revolutionary Rolls, xviii.) 
Brigantine Active, 150 tons, 12 guns and 60 men. Privateer. On petition of 
Job Prince in behalf of Andrew and Samuel Cabot, Nathanial Swasey com- 
missioned commander December 16, 1780. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 314.) 
Brigantine Active 100 tons, 14 four-pounders and 60 men. Privateer. On 
petition of Andrew Cabot and others of Beverly, John Patten commissioned 
commander April 9, 1781. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 364.) 

Brigantine Active taken and carried into Halifax. September 22, 1781, 
Captain John Patten and crew of the Active arrived at Boston in a cartel. 
(New York Mercury, September 28, 1781.) 

Adventure 

Schooner Adventure, 48 tons, 6 carriage and 8 swivel guns and 35 men. On 
petition of Larkin Thorndike and others, Robert Newman commissioned com- 
mander September 8, 1777. Privateer. (Massachusetts Archives, clxx. 379.) 

Schooner Adventure, same tonnage and force, on petition of John Dyson, 
William James of Beverly commissioned commander, May 11, 1780. John 
Dyson and Benjamin Goldthwaithe sureties. (Revolutionary Rolls, v. 5; Mas- 
sachusetts Archives, cbcx. 279.) 



406 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Black Prince 
Ship Black Prince, 220 tons, 18 guus, 120 men. Privateer. On petition of 
William Pickman, William Orne, Larkin Thorndike and others of Salem and 
Beverly, Elias Smith commissioned commander, June 17, 1778. (Massachusetts 
Archives, clxviii. 351.) 

Ship Black Prince, same tonnage, force and owners. Privateer. On petition of 
George Williams and others of Salem, Nathaniel West commissioned commander, 
Samuel Carleton 1st lieutenant, Benjamin Crowngshield 2nd Lieutenant, October 
17, 1778. The Black Prince was burned by the crew at the time of the Penobscot 
expedition. (Massachusetts Archives, clxix. 236.) 

BXJCCANIER 

Ship Buccanier, 350 tons, 18 nine-pounders, 150 men. Privateer. On petition 
of J. & A. Cabot, Hoystead Hacker commissioned commander, Abraham Hawkins 
1st Lieutenant, August 3, 1781. 

On petition of Job Prince for same owners, March 27, 1782, Jesse Fearson was 
commissioned commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxii. 126.) 

Cato 
Snow Cato, 10 four-pound guns and 30 men. Letter of marque. Petition of 
Job Prince in behalf of A. & J. Cabot, Eleazer Giles of Beverly commissioned 
commander, September 18, 1779. (Massachusetts Archives, clxx. 403.) 

Centipede ^ 
Schooner Cent. Peid, 45 tons, 16 swivel guns, 35 men. Privateer. Petition of 
Elias H. Derby, Joseph White, and Miles Greenwood of Salem, WilUam Langdon 
or Langdell commissioned commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxviii. 103.) 
On bond given December 5, 1777, with William Langdon as principal and E. H. 
Derbj' as security, she is called Santape. In libel against schooner Betty, May 
14, 1778, she is called Centi Pea. 

Schooner Cent Pede, 40 tons, 16 swivel guns and 40 men. Privateer. May 
23, 1778, petition of E. H. Derby, Samuel Ingersoll commissioned commander. 
In libel of Captain Ingersoll against schooner Bickford she is called Saint te Pea. 
On bond by Captain Ingersoll, she is called Cent Pea. 

Schooner Cent a Pede, Privateer. Petition of Miles Greenwood and others, 
Joseph Pratt commissioned commander, with John Gavet as 1st lieutenant and 
John Peters sailing master, September 29, 1778. Some time in 1778 Livermore 
Whittredge was agent and Josiah Batchelder, Jr., of Beverly, owner of the 
Santipe. Eben Rogers, William Wyatt, John Galls, and Willis Standly, all of 
Beverly, were members of the crew. 

Schooner Sentipe, 4 carriage and 10 swivel guns, 50 men. Privateer. Petition 
of Nathaniel Silsbee, Gideon Henfield commissioned commander, August 3, 1779. 

Chance 
Brig Chance, 85 tons, Captain Zachariah Gage, belonging to A. & J. Cabot. 
Letter of marque. Sold at Cape FranQois in 1782. 



1 For the various forms of this name, see p. 347 note 1, above. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 407 

Cicero 
Ship Cicero, 300 tons, 10 nine- and 6 four-pound guns, 60 men. Letter of 
marque. Petition of A. Cabot and others of Beverly, January 16, 1781, Hugh 
Hill commissioned master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 332.) 

Commerce 
Ship Commerce, 200 tons, 6 nine- and S four-pound guns, 50 men. Letter of 
marque. Petition of Andrew Cabot, January 16, 1781, Stephen Webb com- 
missioned master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 332.) 

Content 
Ship Content. Owned by Nathan Leach of Beverly. February 21, 1777, 
Nathan Leach sells ship Content to the State for £1900. 

Cornwall 
Ship Cornwall, 200 tons, 10 four-pound guns, 25 men. Letter of marque. 
On petition of Mark Lafitte, John Edmonds commissioned master, January 15, 
1778, John Bickford 1st heutenant. 

Count D'Estaing 

Ship Count D'Estaing, 150 tons, 10 four-pounders, 25 men. Letter of marque. 
On petition of John Dyson and others of Beverly, Elias Smith commissioned 
commander, August 22, 1780, with Daniel Payne 1st mate, Theodore Williams 
2nd mate, Hugh Hathorne boatswain, James Ferrinson steward, Zachariah Stone 
gunner. Of the crew only seven were born in New England and seventeen were 
foreigners. The only Beverly men in the crew were Henry Oliver, Jacob Oliver, 
and Thomas Smith. 

Defence 

Brigantine Defence, 170 tons, 16 six-pound cannon, 100 men. Privateer. On 
petition of Andrew Cabot and Moses Brown, July 6, 1779, John Edmonds com- 
missioned commander with Nathaniel Swazey 1st lieutenant, John Boardman 
2nd lieutenant. June 30, 1779, the Defence was at anchor in Beverly harbor. 
She was a new vessel just fitted out for a cruize against the Quebec fleet. She 
joined the Penobscot expedition and was burned to escape capture. (Massa- 
chusetts Archives, clxx. 209.) 

Brigantine Defence, 150 tons, 16 four-pound guns, 50 men. Letter of marque. 
Petition of J. & A. Cabot, John Edmands commissioned master. March 22, 1780. 
List of officers and crew July 21, 1781 : John Edmands captain, Jonathan Carwick 
1st mate, John Dutch 2nd mate, John Picket carpenter, John Wilkins gunner, 
William Brown boatswain, Stephen Costell'o, John Bray, James Babson, John 
Gage, Daniel Batchelor and WiUiam Allen, all mariners from Beverly. William 
Lakeman, from Ipswich, was prize master and there were 14 mariners from 
Ipswich, balance of the crew from Gloucester. October 2, 1781, on a voyage 
from Bilbao to Beverly with a cargo of steel, silks, linen and blankets, she was 
taken in Boston Bay, by H. B. M. Ship Chatham. (Revolutionary Rolls, xxiv. 53.) 

Diana 

Schooner Diana, 40 tons, 4 guns, 20 men. Privateer. Petition of Joseph 
Swasey and others of Beverly, Richard Lakeman commander, August 20, 1781. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 64.) 



408 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Diana 

Snow Diana, 140 tons, 8 guns, 25 men. Letter of marque. Petition of Larkin 
Thorndike September 19, 1780, William Herrick commissioned commander, with 
Benjamin Bickford 1st mate, William Gage 2nd mate, Robert Stone, John 
Eveleth, Zebulon Ober, Joseph Kittrege, John Kilam and WiUiam Roberts 
mariners from Beverly. Other members of the crew were Elijah Whitreg of 
Danvers, John Tuck of Manchester, George Hall, JMoses Lufkin, John Tropater, 
Benjamin Swain, Nehemiah Dean, Alfred Dodge, Israel Dodge, Benjamin 
Lamson, John Balch, and Joseph Lufkin, all from Hamblet. The Diana was 
taken by an English cruizer June 15, 1781, and John Tuck, Thomas Hadden, 
Joseph Foster, Hezekiah Thissel, Nathan Woodman, and Zebulon Ober, all 
Beverly men, were taken prisoners on her. (Massachusetts Archives, cbcx. 132.) 

Dolphin 
Schooner Dolphin, 40 tons, 6 guns, 35 men. Privateer. Petition of William 
Homans and others of Beverly, Joseph Knolton commissioned commander, 
July 14, 1781. August 12, 1782, she was reported wrecked on Cape Sable. 

Dove 
Sloop Dove, unknown tonnage, commanded and owned by Robert Haskell of 
Beverly. Spy vessel emploj-ed by the State. (Massachusetts] Archives, cxcv. 
110.) 

Driver 
Sloop Driver, 70 tons, 8 guns, 20 men. Letter of marque. Petition of Josiah 
Batchelder, Jr., Daniel Adams commissioned master, September 1, 1777. Robert 
Haskell of Beverly commanded the Driver in 1779. The Driver was owned by 
Josiah Batchelder, Jr., and Livermore Whittredge. 

Eagle 

Return of officers and petty officers of privateer brig Eagle June 17, 1780: 
Wilham Groves commander, John Pearson 1st lieutenant, John Harris 2nd 
lieutenant, Jacob Oliver of Beverly master, Philip Richerson of Beverly mate, 
Joseph Knight, Aaron Lee, Paul Foster prize masters, Thomas Pousland gunner, 
John Leach boatswain, and Moses Prince steward. The Beverly names in the 
crew, residence not given, were Joseph Ober, Thomas Stevens, Robert Leach, 
WiUiam Morgan, Henry Tuck, George Gross, Joseph Baker, and Curtis Wood- 
berry. Some of these might have been equally well residents of Salem. The 
Eagle, owned by James Lovett and Moses Brown, was taken by an English 
cruizer July 21, 1780. 

Essex 

Ship Essex, 200 tons, 20 guns, 150 men. Privateer. Petition of Jonathan 
Jackson, Joseph Lee and J. & A. Cabot, April 14, 1781, John Cathcart com- 
missioned commander. Job Prince agent. May 6, 1780, John Cathcart was 
commander, Eben T. Thayer of Boston 1st lieutenant, James Lovett of Salem 
2nd lieutenant, H. Pearson of Boston master, John Tajdor of Providence, R. I., 
captain of marines, George Odell of Boston mate. There were no names signed 
as from Beverly. The Essex was taken by H. B. M. Ship Queen Charlotte June 
10, 1781. The following Beverly men were taken on her: Joseph Perkins, Robert 
Raimond, Levi Woodberry, Andrew Peabody, Matthew Chambers, James Lovett, 
and Benj. Sprague. (Massachusetts Archives,"clxxi. 369.) 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 409 

Experiment 
Brigantine Experiment, 130 tons, 6 six-pound guns, 2 swivels, 20 muskets, and 
25 men. Letter of marque to West Indies. Petition of George Cabot, Joseph 
Lee and others, March 30, 1779, John Porter commissioned master. The petition 
asks that the Experiment may be commissioned "To trade with the Allies of 
U. S. in the W. I., and whereas in the course of the voyage there may be oppor- 
tunity of annoying and capturing the vessels and property of the enemies of the 
U. S. Your petitioners pray Your Honors to grant said John Porter proper 
warrant therefore." 

Fanny 
Brigantine Fanny, 6 guns, 15 men. Letter of marque. Petition of Livermore 
Whittredge, William Bartlett and others, June 14, 1780, Herbert Woodberry 
commissioned master. Taken May 28, 1781, by H. B. M. brig Providence, The 
list of officers and crew August 23, 1780, was as follows: Herbert Woodberry 
captain, Samuel Stone 1st mate, Edward Foster 2nd mate, William Hally, Luke 
Woodberry, Nathaniel Trask, Jeremiah Thorndike, Martin Dayall, Josiah Foster, 
Blackenberry Prince, Josiah Ober, Jacob Woodberrj^, Thomas Dodge mariners. 
Thomas Dodge was from Wenham, all the rest from Beverly. 

Fish Hawk 
Sloop Fish Hawk, 50 tons, 8 guns, 40 men. Privateer. Petition of John 
Dyson in behalf of Josiah Batchelder, Jr., and others, September 1, 1779, Wilham 
Groves commissioned commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxx. 378.) 

Sloop Fish Hawk, 50 tons, 8 guns, 16 men. Letter of marque. Petition of 
Josiah Batchelder, Jr., November 30, 1779, Samuel Foster commissioned master. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 35.) 

Sloop Fish Hawk, Letter of marque. Petition of Josiah Batchelder, Jr., 
Sept. 1st 1780 Israel Ober commissioned master. (Massachusetts Archives, 
cbcxvii. 45.) 

Sloop Fish Hawk, 60 tons, 6 guns, 40 men. Privateer. Petition of Josiah 
Batchelder, Jr., Samuel Foster commissioned commander, May 2, 1781. The 
Fish Hawk was taken Sept. 21st 1781. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 381.) 

The Hst of the oflBcers and crew who signed as Beverly men June 6, 1780, 
was as follows: 



Samuel Foster, captain 


32: 


rears 


5 ft. 


5 in. 


Dark 


Nathaniel Ober, 1st mate 


21 




5 " 


8 " 


Light 


Robert Stone, mariner 


25 




5 " 


5 " 


(( 


Isaiah Foster, " 


21 




5 " 


4 " 


Dark 


Thomas Fitzgerald, " 


22 




5 " 


6 " 


Light 


Benj. Sprague, " 


20 




5 " 


4 " 


Dark 


Zebulon Ober, " 


19 




5 " 


4 " 


Light 


George Groce, " 


28 




5 " 




Dark 


Eben Ray, 


19 




5 " 


5 " 


Light 


Osman Thorndike, " 


19 




5 " 


5 " 


Light 


James Pearce, cabin boy 


17 




5 " 


4 " 


Light 



410 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Fly 

Sloop Fly, 50 tons, 4 carriage and 8 swivel guns, 40 men. Privateer. On 
petition of Andrew Cabot and -Benjamin Lovett, John Marsh commissioned 
commander, August 29, 1778, with Ezra Ober as 1st lieutenant. (Massachusetts 
Arcliives, clxix. 117.) 

Fortune 

Brigantine Fortune, 100 tons, 8 guns and 18 men. Letter of marque. Petition 
of Miles Greenwood and John Dyson, June 29, 1779, Francis Bowman com- 
missioned master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxx. 190.) 

Brigantine Fortune, 140 tons, 12 guns and 36 men. Privateer. Petition of 
Miles Greenwood, April 27, 1780, Jesse Fearson commissioned commander 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 136.) 

Brigantine Fortune, 14 guns and 60 men. Privateer. Petition of John Dyson 
July 3, 1781, Benjamin Ives commissioned commander. (Massachusetts Archives, 
cbcxi. 421.) 

Brigantine Fortune, 7 guns, 15 men. Letter of marque. Petition of John 
Dyson and others of Beverly, November 7, 1781, Richard Ober of Beverly 
commissioned commander. 

Fox 

Brigantine Fox, 150 tons, 8 guns, 15 men. Letter of marque. On petition of 
Stephen Higginson of Boston, Israel Johnson commissioned master, July 15, 
1780. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 196.) 

Ship Fox, 100 tons, 8 guns and 20 men. Letter of marque. On petition of 
Benjamin Lovett, Israel Johnson commissioned master. May 9, 1782. (Massa- 
chusetts Archives, clxxii. 152.) 

The bond of Brigantine Fox, July 14, 1780, signed by Benjamin Lovett, 
Salem, is given in Revolutionary Rolls, v. 228. Whether the brigantine was 
rerigged as a ship or there were two vessels seems uncertain. 

Fbanklin 

Brigantine Franklin, 200 tons, 18 six-pounders, 100 men. Privateer. On 
petition of J. & A. Cabot and Bartholemew Putnam of Salem, April 20th 1778, 
Thomas Connoly commissioned commander, I. Leach 1st lieutenant, J. Selman 
2nd lieutenant, and Jonathan Stevenson master. 

Brigantine Franklin, 200 tons, 18 guns and 120 men. Privateer. On petition 
of E. H. Derby, Jacob Ashton, and Bart. Putnam, Oct. 16, 1778, John Leach 
commissioned commander, Jacob Oliver 1st lieutenant. (Massachusetts Archives, 
clxix. 229.) 

Brigantine Franklin, 160 tons, 18 guns, 100 men. Privateer. On petition of 
E. H. Derby, Joseph Robinson commissioned commander. (Massachusetts 
Archives, clxx. 43.) 

Ship Franklin, 200 tons, 15 guns, 120 men. Privateer. Petition of Joseph 
Robinson on behalf of the owners, September 4, 1779, Joseph Robinson commis- 
sioned commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxx. 391.) 

Ship Franklin, 220 tons, 18 guns and 100 men. Letter of marque. On petition 
of Nathan Goodale, March 24, 1780, John Turner commissioned captain, John 
Bray Ist mate, William Bacon surgeon. Under Captain Turner there were many 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 411 

Marblehead, but no Beverly, men in the crew. (Massachusetts Archives, 
clxxi. 105.) 

Ship Franklin, 200 tons, 18 guns, 100 men. Privateer. Petition of J. & A. 
Cabot, June 22, 1781, John Allen Hallet commissioned commander, Silas Devoll 
1st lieutenant. On the back of the petition is endorsed "John Allen Hallet, 
Master of the within ship, is 37 years of age, 6 ft. 6 in. in stature, and of dark 
complexion. Silas Devoll, 1st Lieut, is 6 ft. tall, 40 years of age and dark." 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 415.) 

Ship Franklin, 200 tons, 18 guns, 100 men. Privateer. On petition of Bart. 
Putnam of Salem, December 14, 1781, Silas Devoll commissioned commander. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxxii. 81.) The Salem Gazette of April 26, 1782, 
reports that privateer Franklin, Captain Devoll, has been taken by H. B. M. 
frigates Assurance and Amphitrite. 

Freedom 
Brigantine Freedom, 90 tons, 7 guns, 15 men. Letter of marque. Petition of 
John Lovett of Beverly, September 7, 1780, Benjamin Ober commissioned master, 
Jonathan Foster 1st mate, William Dike Cooper, Jonathan Clary and Cornelius 
Woodberry mariners, all from Beverly. (IMassachusetts Archives, clxxi. 268.) 

Friendship 

Schooner Friendship, Captain Benjamin EUingwood, belonging to Ebenezer 
Ellingwood and others, on a voyage from Salem for Surinam, laden with fish 
and lumber was taken by the letter of marque Tom, December 28, 1777, and sent 
into Liverpool. 

General Wayne 

Brigantine General Wayne, 90 tons, 8 gtms, 25 men. Letter of marque. On 
petition of Samuel Page of Salem, February 3, 1780, Richard Quatermass com- 
missioned captain. (Revolutionary Rolls, xl. 87.) 

Brigantine, Gen. Wayne. John Leach of Boston commissioned master, John 
Bickford 1st mate, James Buckman 2nd mate, Francis Thompson boatswain, 
James Parker gunner, John Batchelder mariner. All, except Captain Leach, 
from Beverly. (Revolutionary Rolls, xl. 88.) The New York Gazette and Weekly 
Mercury of September 9, 1780, reports brigantine Gen. Wayne taken by H. B. M. 
ship Intrepid. 

Hampden 

Brigantine Hampden, 120 tons, 14 four-pounders, 120 men. Privateer. On 
petition of George Cabot and others, July 5, 1777, Benjamin Warren commis- 
sioned commander. 

Bond of Jonathan Ingersoll, commander of brigantine Hampden, George Cabot 
as surety, William Bartlett 1st lieutenant, November 1, 1777. (Revolutionary 
Rolls, vi. 103.) 

The Gentleman's Magazine for April, 1778, xlviii. 189, reports the Hampden 
rebel privateer 12 guns, 64 men, taken by the Seaford, and carried into Dominica. 

Hawke 
Schooner Hawke, 50 tons, 6 guns, 15 men. Letter of marque. Petition of 
Thomas Davis, of Beverly, and Ephriam Spooner, November 1, 1779, William 
Holland commissioned master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 1.) 



412 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Hector 
Brigantine Hector, 150 tons, 8 guns, 17 men. Letter of marque. Petition of 
George Cabot for Joseph Lee, Andrew Cabot and William Bartlett, March 17, 
1777, Zachariah Burchmore commissioned master. 

The Hector had sailed before for the Cabots under the name of the Union. 

Hope 
Brigantine Hope, 60 tons, 6 guns, 35 men. Privateer. Petition of Herbert 
Woodberry, May 28, 1782, Herbert Woodberry commissioned commander. 
Captured by English privateer Prince Edward, September 25, 1782, but retaken 
by the crew. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxii. 673.) 

Hopewell 
Schooner Hopewell, 25 tons, 10 swivel guns, 40 men. Privateer. Petition of 
William Homans and others of Beverly, July 26, 17S2, Cornelius Dunham com- 
missioned commander. March 26, 1783, same petitioners, Martin Brewster 
commissioned commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxii. 209.) 

Junius Brutus 

Ship Junius Brutus, 20 six-pounders, 120 men. Privateer. On petition of 
Joshua Ward and Henry Rust of Salem, John Leach commissioned commander, 
Benjamin Moses 1st lieutenant, William Carleton 2nd lieutenant, Daniel Adams 
master. Names of Beverly men in the crew. Jack ElUs, Isaac Cornish, James 
Black, Robert Remond, John Groce, and Absalom Goodrich. (Massach.usett8 
Archives, clxxi. 168.) 

Ship Junius Brutus, 260 tons, 20 six and' 9-pounders, 120 men. Privateer. 
On petition of Josiah Orne and others of Salem, August 23, 1780, John Brooks 
commissioned commander. (Massachusetts Ai-chives, clxxi. 260.) 

Ship Junius Brutus, 200 tons, 20 guns, 120 men. Privateer. Petition of 
Nathan Goodale of Salem, Nathaniel Brookhouse commissioned commander, 
October 27, 1781. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxii. 44.) 

Ship Junius Brutus, same tonnage and force. Privateer. On petition of 
Henry Rust and others of Salem, John Brooks commissioned commander June 
19, 1782. Bond signed by Andrew Cabot and Henry Rust. The Junius Brutus 
was taken by an English cruizer in 1782 and carried into Newfoundland. 
October 17, 1782, a cartel arrived in Salem bringing the crew of the Junius 
Brutus. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxii. 175.) 

Lyon 
Ship Lyo7i, 400 tons, 26 nine-pounders, 90 men. Letter of marque. Petition 
of A. & J. Cabot, William Tuck commissioned master, March 6, 1782. The 
Lyon was an English built ship, prize to the Ranger, bought by Mr. Cabot to 
serve as a mast ship. She sailed May 6, 1782, and was captured the same day 
by the English frigate Blonde. 

Mars 
' Brigantine Mars of unknown tonnage and armament. Captain Joshua Elling- 
wood. "Petition of Mark Lafitte, Native of France, at present Resident in 
Salem, Humbly Showeth that the said Petitioner is owner of the Brigantine 
Mars, Joshua Ellingwood, Master, laying in Beverly, which Brigantine was 
almost ready for the Sea when an Embargo took place." Also a petition of 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 413 

Jean Frangois Greste St. Firmin, that he had come to Salem on business two 
months before, was part owner of the cargo of the Mars and was anxious to 
return to his home in the Island of High Hispaniola, whither the brigantine 
was bound. To these petitions were affixed these certificates: 

Beverly, Aug. 9, 1779, 
We certify whom it may concern that the Brigantine Mars, commanded by 
Capt. Joshua Ellingwood, now Lying in the harbour of Beverly is Loaded wit 
Alewives, Menhaden and lumber And That There is no Cod or other Dried fish 
on board Said Brigantine nor other provisions more than is necessary for her 
present voyage. 

Nathaniel Batchelder, Jr. 
Nathan Leach 
Council Chamber, Aug. 9, 1779, Ordered that the Naval Officer for the Port 
of Salem be and hereby is Directed to clear out the Brigantine Mars, Letter of 
Marque, now lying in the harbour of Beverly, bound to Hispaniola, when the 
Embargo on Vessels shall expire, the Embargo on provisions notwithstanding. 

Mohock 
Ship Mohock, 262 tons, 20 six-pounders, 130 men. Privateer. On petition 
of William Leach, William Bartlett and others of Beverly, Elias Smith com- 
missioned commander, November 8, 1781. The Mohock was a new ship built 
especially for a privateer. On September 6, 1782, John Carnes succeeded 
Captain Smith and the Mohock was taken fourteen days out by H. B. M. ship 
Enterprise and sent into New York. 

Neptune 
Brigantine Neptune, 115 tons, 14 guns, 80 men. Privateer. This vessel was 
partly owned in Beverly in 1779, but who her owners were is uncertain. The 
petition for her commission, dated August 5, 1779, was signed by George Dodge 
of Salem, and as he was associated with Andrew Cabot in many enterprises it is 
probable that the latter was largely interested. The Neptune was commanded, 
by John Ashton, with John Marsh as lieutenant, both of Beverly. 

New Adventure 
Brig N'ew Adventure, 14 gims, 50 men. Privateer. Petition of William Orne 
and John Leach of Salem, John Neal, Jr., commissioned commander, Jacob 
Oliver 1st lieutenant, Edward Stanly 2nd lieutenant. A number of American 
privateers were dogging the Quebec fleet and nine of them were taken and 
carried into Halifax, and some to St. John's, Newfoundland. Brig New Adventure, 
Captain Neal of Beverly. (New York Mercury, September 21, 1781.) The 
brig New Adventure is usually credited to Salem, the only authority for calling 
it a Beverly vessel is the above statement of the New York Mercury. 

Oliver Cromwell 

Brigantine Oliver Cromxvell, 162 tons, 16 guns, 130 men. Privateer. On 
petition of John Derby of Salem and Andrew Cabot of Beverly, William Cole 
commissioned commander, April 29, 1777. (Revolutionary Rolls, vii. 300.) 

Brigantine Oliver Cromwell, 160 tons, 16 guns, 100 men. Privateer. Petition 
of Jonathan Ingersoll, July 10, 1778, Thomas Simmons commissioned commander, 
James Barr Ist lieutenant. 



414 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSEITS [Jan. 

Ship Oliver Cromwell, 150 tons, 16 six-pound guns, 110 men. Privateer. On 
petition of Bart. Putnam and John Derby, March 29, 1779, Thomas Simmons 
commissioned commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxx. 41.) 

Ship Oliver Cromivell, 150 tons, 18 guns, 110 men. Privateer. On petition of 
Bart Putnam and others, August 11, 1779, James Barr commissioned commander, 
I. Carpenter 1st lieutenant, Samuel West 2nd lieutenant. (Massachusetts 
Archives, clxx. 320.) 

Ship Oliver Cromwell, 160 tons, 16 guns, 85 men. Privateer. On petition of 
Nathan Leach, William Bartlett and others of Beverly, John Bray commissioned 
commander, April 19, 1781. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 371.) 

The Oliver Cromwell, Captain Bray, while dogging the Quebec fleet was taken 
by a British frigate and sent into Newfoundland. On September 22, 1781, a 
cartel arrived at Boston from Newfoundland bringing Captain Bray and his 
crew. 

Pilgrim 

Ship Pilgrim, 200 tons, 16 nine-pounders, 140 men. Privateer. On petition 
of John and Andrew Cabot, Hugh Hill was commissioned commander, September 
12, 1778, John Hooper 1st lieutenant, Benj. Moses 2nd Heutenant. (Massa- 
chusetts Archives, clxix. 157.) 

Ship Pilgrim,, 200 tons, 18 nine-pounders, 160 men. Privateer. On petition 
of Andrew Cabot, Joseph Robinson commissioned commander, March 24, 1780.*^ 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 104.) 

Ship Pilgrim, 200 tons, 18 guns, 150 men. Privateer. On petition of William 
Creed, in behalf of Jonathan Jackson, Joseph Lee, and J. & A. Cabot, Joseph 
Robinson commissioned commander, April 14, 1781. (Massachusetts Archives, 
clxxi. 369.) The New York Mercury of May 16, 1782, reports American privateer 
Pilgrim prize to H. B. M. ivigaiQ Belisarius;'^ American papers of October 12, 
1782, report that the privateer Pilgrim was chased ashore on Cape Cod by the 
English frigate Chatham. 



1 The officers and petty officers of the Pilgrim August 14, 1780, were as fol- 
lows: Joseph Robinson, Salem, commander; Jesse Allen, Manchester, 1st lieuten- 
ant; Benjamin Warren, Salem, 2nd lieutenant; Nicholas Garven, Boston, master; 
George Sugden, Beverly, master's mate; John Dean, Salem, 2nd mate; J. L. 
Hammond, Salem, 3rd mate; Samuel Blanchard, Boston, surgeon; Nathaniel 
Otis, Salem, chaplain; William Curtis, master of marines; Moses Vose, John 
Harris, Francis Horton, Joseph Hudson, John Kelly, John Marsh, and Thomas 
Hogkins, all prize masters; Jonathan Glidden, Beverly, carpenter; William 
Foot, Salem, cooper; Joseph Johnson, Salem, doctor's mate; John Turner, gunner; 
James Lyons, Marblehead, sailmaker; Jonathan McDowell, boatswain; Joseph 
Standly and William Vose, stewards. Of the crew only two, James Elliot and 
Richard Allen, were Beverly men. There were ten boys, one eleven, two twelve, 
two thirteen and five seventeen years or younger. Most of the crew were of 
foreign birth. 

- This report of the capture of the Pilgrim was probably incorrect. At all 
events the vessel, if captured, was not the Pilgrim of Beverly. 

There is in existence a log kept by Dr. Josiah Bartlett while surgeon on the 
Pilgriyn of Beverly from April 19, 1781, to July 23, 1782. This log will be 
printed in Vol. xxv. of the Publications of this Society. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 415 

Rambler 
Ship Rambler, on February 18, 1777, Andrew Cabot, owner of ship Rambler, 
petitions the Council for permission to clear the Rambler in ballast for some 
neutral port in Europe, to bring back salt, woolens and naval stores. The 
Rambler probably belonged to Mr. Cabot several years prior to her commission 
in 1777. In 1776 the Rambler was at Bilbao, Spain, under command of George 
Cabot. In 1777 Andrew Cabot in a letter to Gardoqui & Sons, Bilbao, writes: 
"The Rambler, Capt. Simmons, which is owned by George Dodge and myself." 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxvi. 269.) 

Ship Rambler, 200 tons, 14 six-pounders, 50 men. Letter of marque. On 
petition of Andrew Cabot and others of Beverly, Benjamin Lovett commissioned 
master, October 16, 1779. (Massachusetts Archives, clxx. 434.) 

Ship Rambler, same tonnage and force. Letter of marque. Petition of J. & 
A. Cabot, February 14, 1782, Benjamin Lovett commissioned master. The 
Beverly men on the Rambler in 1780 were Benjamin Lovett captain, and William 
Ober, H. Hair, Robert Haskell, Robert Stanly, Nathan Gage, John Ellingwood, 
and William Poland mariners. (Revolutionary Rolls, xl. 70.) 

Reprisal 
Brigantine Reprisal, 70 tons, 8 three-pound guns, and 10 swivels and 60 men. 
Privateer. On petition of Job Prince and Samuel White of Boston, agents for 
themselves and Jacob Fowler, Andrew Cabot, John Coffin Jones and Benjamin 
Hichbourne, owners, John Wheelwright commissioned commander, October 3, 
1776, Samuel Smallcorn 1st lieutenant, Nathaniel Thayer 2nd lieutenant, John 
Gregore master, Joseph Pitman steward, Stephen Johnson gunner, and John 
Ritchmond doctor. (Revolutionary Rolls, vii. 34.) The Reprisal may have been 
captured in 1777, as Nathaniel Thayer, her 1st lieutenant, returned on the cartel 
Swijt from Halifax November 9, 1777. 

Resource 

Ship Resource, 178 tons, 16 six-pounders, 30 men. Letter of marque. Petition 
of Thomas Woodberry, Ebenezer Parsons, and Israel Thorndike, June 10, 1780» 
Israel Thorndike commissioned master. (Revolutionary Rolls, xl. 64.) 

List of officers and crew and share of prize money: Israel Thorndike captain, 
8 shares; Richard Ober mate, 4 shares; Andrew Thorndike 2nd mate, 3 shares; 
Samuel Cressy master, 3 shares; Nathan French gunner, 2 shares; Francis Gordon 
boatswain, 2 shares; Batholemew carpenter, 2 shares; Jonathan Wooden master's 
mate, 13^ shares; Edward Lee master of marines, 2 shares; Dana Whipple of 
Ipswich, steward, 13^ shares; Joseph Whittredge of Dan vers, William Eaves and 
Stephen Barker of Taunton, Ephriam Walton of Ipswich, Jonathan White of 
Boston, Jacob Thompson, Nathan Beaurigard, Edward Larcom, William Gage, 

Nicholas Thorndike, George Bray, Herrick, Richard Ober, all mariners from 

Beverly except where noted, 1 share. There were also three boys, Ezra Hall 16, 
Herbert Vickory 16, and Edward Marvell 14 years of age. 

Ship Resource, 140 tons, 10 guns and 24 men. Letter of marque. Petition of 
Thomas Woodberry and others, September 7, 1780, Richard Ober commissioned 
master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 176.) 

List of officers and crew and ages September 11, 1780: Richard Ober captain, 
35 years; Andrew Thorndike 1st mate, 27 years; Sam. Cressy 2nd mate, 27 years; 



416 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

John Waters, 28; Andrew Ober, 18; John Woodby, 22; Jacob Woodby, 18; 
Andrew Woodby, 30; Thomas Woodby, 37; Ebenezer Woodby, 25; John Lovett, 
27; Jacob Brown of Wenham, 28; Nathan Thome, 18; Jacob Thompson, 18; 
John Savage, 27; Thomas Harris, 27; Thomas Ober, 22; David Allen, 29; 
Richard Ober, 24; Richard Thome, 22; Nicholas Thorndike, 22; John Rea, 22; 
Joseph Ray, 24; and Andrew Woodman, 27 years of age. All of Beverly except 
one. (Revolutionary Rolls, xl. 66.) 

The Resource was taken by an English cruizer in 1780. 

Retaliation 
Brigantine Retaliation, 70 tons, 10 guns, 9 swivels, 70 men. Privateer. On 
petition of Josiah Batchelder, Jr., September 4, 1776, Eleazer Giles commander, 
Thomas Stephens Ist lieutenant, John Proctor 2nd lieutenant. (Massachusetts 
Archives, clxv. 204.) The Retaliation was taken in the autumn of 1777. 

Revenge 
Sloop Revenge, 90 tons, 12 guns, 60 men. Privateer. Petition of Miles Green- 
wood and Joseph Lee, May 14, 1776, Joseph White commissioned commander. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxiv. 356.) The sloop Revenge was afterwards com- 
manded by Benjamin Warren, Edward Gibaut, and Benjamin Dean. 

Revolution 
Ship Revolution, 330 tons, 20 9-pounders, 130 men. Privateer. On petition of 
J. & A. Cabot, March 6, 1782, Stephen Webb commissioned commander. 

ROVEK 

Sloop Rover, 8 guns, 50 men. Privateer. On petition of Jacob Ashton, 
Joseph Sprague and others, July 17, 1776, Simon Forester commissioned captain. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxv. 421.) 

Sloop Rover, same armament. Privateer. On petition of Benjamin Goodhue 
for the owners, November 13, 1776, Abijah Boden was commissioned commander. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxvi. 37.) 

Sloop Rover, 60 tons, 8 guns and 50 men. Privateer. On petition of John 
Derby, Andrew Cabot and others, August 9, 1777, John Mitchell commissioned 
commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxvii. 319.) 

Sally 
Ship Sally, Captain John Buffinton. Andrew Cabot was part owner. 

Saratoga 

Brig Saratoga, 120 tons, 8 guns and 30 men. Letter of marque. On petition 
of Andrew Cabot, Joseph Lee and others, July/1, 1778, John Tittle commissioned 
master. 

Brig Saratoga, 120 tons, 10 guns, 30 men. Letter of marque. On petition of 
Andrew Cabot, November 20, 1779, Stephen Webb commissioned master. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 28.) 

September 4, 1780, Eleazer Giles was master of the letter of marque Saratoga 
and the list of officers and crew was as follows: Eleazer Giles master, Wilham 
Ellingwood 1st mate, Benjamin Parsons of Gloucester 2nd mate, Nicholas Ober 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 417 

prize master, James Hooper of Marblehead gunner, James Higgins (born in 
Virginia, lives in Beverly), Richard Green, Jonathan Bowls, Benjamin Roundy 
(Salem), Thomas Giles (Salem), John Tufts (Danvers), Ceaser and Cato IMont- 
gomery cooks, Joseph Haskell, all natives and residents of Beverly, except where 
noted. There were also two English prisoners, Robert Lefavour and James 
Mull, serving as mariners on the vessel. 

On November 1, 1780, the brig Saratoga was reported condemned and sold 
at Beverly. 

Scorpion 

Schooner Scorpion, 50 tons, 14 swivel and 2 carriage guna, 40 men. Privateer. 
On petition of Joseph White and Miles Greenwood of Salem, November 8, 1777, 
Israel Thorndike commissioned commander, John Ashton 1st lieutenant. (Massa- 
chusetts Archives, clxvii. 436.) 

Schooner Scorpion, 45 tons, 16 swivel guns, 40 men. Privateer. On petition 
of E. H. Derby, February 27, 1778, John Brooks commissioned commander, 
John Marsh 1st lieutenant. 

Schooner Scorpion, 50 tons, 2 guns, 40 men. On petition of Josiah Batchelder, 
Jr., June 16, 1778, Benjamin Niles commissioned master. In this petition the 
Scorpion is called both letter of marque and privateer. 

Schooner Scorpion, same armament and petitioners. Letter of marque. 
March 18, 1779, Benjamin Ives was commissioned master. September 20, 1779, 
Perry Howland was master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxx. 25, 410.) 

Scourge 
Ship Scourge, 240 tons, 20 gims, 120 men. On petition of Brown & Thorndike, 
May 24, 1781, Timothy Parker commissioned commander. The Scourge was 
taken by an Enghsh cruizer April 22, 1782. 

Sebastian 

Ship Sebastian, 150 tons, 10 guns, 30 men. Letter of marque. On petition of 
Andrew Cabot, Febi-uary 18, 1779, Benjamin Lovett commissioned master. 
(]\Iassachusetts Archives, cbdx. 444.) 

Ship Sebastian, same force and petitioner, September 18, 1779, Benjamin 
Ellingwood master. August 21, 1780, Ichabod Groves master. (Massachusetts 
Archives, clxx. 403.) Said to have been taken by an English cruizer in 1780. 

Shaker 

Galley Shaker, 50 tons, 6 four-pounders, 40 men. Privateer. On petition of 
Job Prince, Andrew Cabot and others, May 9, 1782, Samuel Stacy commissioned 
commander. (Massachusetts Arcliives, clxxii. 153.) 

Ship Shaker, 50 tons, 6 guns, 40 men. Privateer. On petition of Brown & 
Thorndike, February 26, 1783, James Lovett commissioned commander. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxxii. 307.) 

Spanish Packet 
Ship Spanish Packet,' 10 guns and 20 men. Letter of marque. On petition of 
Francis Cabot and James Jeffreys, February 18, 1782, Thomas Baling com- 
missioned master. 



418 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Staeks 

Brigantine Starks, 120 tons, 6 guns and 20 men. Letter of marque. On 
petition of Andrew Cabot, Richard Quatermass commissioned master. (Massa- 
chusetts Archives, clxviii. 67.) 

Brigantine Siarks, 10 guns and 20 men. Letter of marque. On petition of 
Andrew Cabot October 16, 1779, Ezra Ober was commissioned master, Richard 
Ober 1st mate, Edward Foster 2nd mate, Benjamin Porter gunner, Benjamin 
Presson prize master, James Richerson, David Bunker, Jolm Tuck, John Anderson, 
WilUam Morgan, Robert Stanly, Osman Thorndike, \yilHam Thompson, all of 
Beverly; Joseph and Nathaniel Ivingman of Wenham; James Dodge and Thomas 
Stevens of Ipswich. 

Sturdy Beggar 

Schooner Sturdy Beggar, 90 tons, 6 guns and 20 men. Privateer. On petition 
of E. H. Derby, June 1.3, 1776, Peter Landen of Salem commissioned commander. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxiv. 391.) 

Schooner Sturdy Beggar, number of guns and crew not given. Privateer. On 
petition of Benjamin Goodhue, August 2, 1776, Allen Hallet commissioned 
commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxv. 24.) 

Schooner Sturdy Beggar, 100 tons, 8 guns and 60 men. Privateer. On petition 
of Benj. Goodhue and others, October 2, 1776, Edward Rowland commissioned 
commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxv. 308.) On Februar}' 24, 1777, the 
Sturdy Beggar, Captain Rowland, was reported taken by an EngUsh cruizer and 
the crew afterwards confined in Mill Prison. 

Brigantine Sturdy Beggar, 100 tons, 10 guns and crew of unknown number. 
Privateer. On petition of Joshua Ward of Salem, August 20, 1777, Philip Le- 
favour of Marblehead commissioned commander. (Revolutionary Rolls, v. 3.) 
Bond of Sturdy Beggar signed by Benjamin Goodhue and Andrew Cabot. 
Whether the schooner Sturdy Beggar had not been taken by an English cruizer 
and been rerigged as a brigantine, or whether this was another vessel, the writer 
has been unable to ascertain. The brigantine Sturdy Beggar is said to have been 
wrecked on the coast of France. 

Success 

Ship Success, Captain William Langdon. Petition of Zachariah Gage, June 
16, 1777, for exchange of Captain Langdon, two mates and six sailors, of ship 
Success of Beverly, taken seven weeks before by the Diamond frigate. (Massa- 
chusetts Archives, clxvii. 32.) 

Brig Success, 120 tons, 8 guns and 15 men. Letter of marque. On petition of 
Stephen Higginson and Francis Cabot of Salem, Januarj' 4, 1779, William Groves 
commissioned master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxix. 398.) 

Swallow 

Schooner Sioallow, 60 tons. Petition of Thomas Davis of Beverly to send the 
Sivallow to Virginia for flour, January 8, 1777. 

Schooner Swallow, John Loviet, master. Built in New England in 1750. 
Registered at Salem, October 22, 1750. Owned by Thomas Davis and Benjamin 
Fisher. (Essex Institute Historical Collections, v. 282.) 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 419 

Swift 

Brigantine Swift, 100 tons, 8 guns and 20 men. Letter of marque. Petition 
of William Homans and others, January 3, 1781, Asa Woodberry commissioned 
master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxxi. 324.) 

Brigantine Swift, 100 tons, 14 guns, 70 men. Privateer. Petition of William 
Homans and others of Beverly, January 5, 1781, John Tittle commissioned 
commander. (Massachusetts Archives, cLxxi. 405.) 

Brigantine Swift, 100 tons, 14 guns, 70 men. Privateer. Same petition, 
October 20, 1781, Israel Johnson commissioned commander. (Massachusetts 
Archives, ckxii. 36.) The Swift was captured in 1782. 

Terrible Creature 

Brigantine Terrible Creature, 16 guns, 100 men. Privateer. Petition of 
George and Andrew Cabot, March 9, 1778, Robert Richardson commissioned 
commander, Zachariah Birchmore 1st lieutenant, Nathaniel West 2nd lieutenant, 
John Bradford master. 

True American 

Schooner True American, 90 tons, 10 guns, 70 men. Privateer. Petition of 
George Dodge for Andrew Cabot, April 29, 1777, John Buffinton commissioned 
commander, Benjamin Chapman 1st lieutenant, John Brooks 2nd lieutenant, 
William Thomas master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxvi. 372.) 

Brigantine True American, 90 tons, 70 guns, 2.5 men. Letter of marque. 
Petition of Andrew Cabot, May 20, 1778, John Buffinton commissioned com- 
mander. (Massachusetts Archives, clx\'iii. 237.) 

Two Friends 
Schooner Two Friends, 60 tons. Owned in 1782 by Andrew Cabot. 

Valiant 
Schooner Valiant. No record of her commission in the State Archives, except 
list of officers and crew, June 3, 1780: 
Joshua Ellingwood Capt. 
Nathan Batchelder Mate 
William Porter 
Edward Smith 
David Herrick 
Nathaniel Wallis 
Joshua Herrick 

Union 
Brigantine Union, 120 tons, 6 guns, 4 swivels, 20 men. Petition of Samuel 
Ward of Salem, January 4, 1779, William Langdell commissioned captain. 
(Massachusetts Archives, clxix. 399.) 

Warren 
Schooner Warren, 50 tons, 5 carriage and 10 swivel guns, 50 men. Privateer. 
Petition of Josiah Batchelder, Jr., and others, October 29, 1776, Israel Thorndike 
commissioned commander, Nicholas Ogleeby 1st lieutenant, William Ryan 
2nd lieutenant, John Lee master. (Massachusetts Archives, clxix. 396.) 



28 years c 


f age 5 ft. 2 in. 


in stature 


dark 


29 " ' 


' " 5 " 6 " 


(( (( 


lite 


28 " ' 


< a 5 « 5 u 




dark 


20 " ' 


< « 5 « g « 




lite 


22 " ' 


' " 5 " 8 " 




dark 


21 " ' 


' " 5 " 9 " 




lite 


18 " ' 


' " 5 " 




lite 



420 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

Schooner Warren, 60 tons, 10 guns, 50 men. Privateer. Petition of Josiah 
Batchelder, Jr., April 29, 1777, Nicholas Ogleeby, commissioned commander. 

Schooner Warren, 60 tons, 10 guns, 50 men. Privateer. Petition of Josiah 
Batchelder, Jr., December 3, 1777, John Ravell commissioned commander, 
Samuel Foote 1st lieutenant. The Warren was taken by the Torti, December 27, 
1777, and by the Fanny February 6, 1778. 

Washington 

Brigantine Washington, 90 tons, 12 guns, 80 men. Privateer. Petition of 
John Dyson, Thomas Davis of Beverly and Jonathan Hobby and Samuel Thwing 
of Boston, October 3, 1776, Elias Smith commissioned commander, James Lovett 
1st lieutenant, William Tuck 2nd lieutenant, John Vickorj'- master.^ (Massa- 
chusetts Archives, clxv. 311.) 

Brigantine Washington, same force and petitions, Maj' 2, 1777, EHas Smith 
commissioned commander. (Massachusetts Archives, clxvi. 379.) 

Brigantine Washington, 95 tons, 14 guns, 75 men. Privateer. Petition of 
Samuel Dyson and Samuel Thwing, November 8, 1777, Nicholas Ogleby com- 
missioned commander, Joim Ober 1st lieutenant, William Ryan 2nd lieutenant, 
David Stevenson master. (In the bond the name is written "Oglisby.") (Massa- 
chusetts Archives, clxvii. 437.) 

It is possible that the Washington, Captain Ogleeby, was not the original 
Washington. 

Of the seventy merchant and private armed vessels, described 
in the above Hst, it is probable that sixty were owned or controlled 
in Beverly and the other ten out of town. It is possible that some 
have been included which properly belonged to Salem, but the change 
of ownership in those days was so frequent, the evidence so con- 
flicting, that it is hard to draw the line. There were undoubtedly 
other vessels, besides the above, sailing from Beverly, and there 
is reason to believe that the following vessels might be included 
in the list, though proof is lacking: 

Schooner Gen. Gates Owned in 1776 by John Gardner and partner. John 

Cabot, witness on the bond. 
Schooner Harlequin Owned in 1776 by John Gardner and partner. The 

Harlequin was the schooner Sally, renamed, and 

Andrew Cabot owned J^ of the Sally. 
Brig Pluto Petition of Josiah Orne of Salem in 1777. Andrew 

Cabot, witness on the bond. 
Schooner Fair Lady Owned in Ipswich in 1776. William Homans, Jr., 

one of her owners. 



1 With the exception of John "\'ickory, who was probably a Marblehead 
man, all the officers and most of the crew were from Beverly. 



1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 421 

Ship Rhodes Owned by William Shillaber and others in 1780. The 

Rhodes sent a number of prizes into Beverlj' and 
several were sold at the Cabot wharf. 
Ship Hawk, Ship Neptune, Brig Neptune, Schooner Resolution, Schooner 
Batchelder, Sloop Gates, Brig Rambler. 

It is impossible to enumerate all the vessels in which Beverly 
capital was interested, and the above is only a partial list. Shares 
in vessels were reckoned in eighths and multiples of that fraction 
and, in absence of other kinds of investment, the inliabitants of 
the seaport towns bought and sold them as stocks are bought and 
sold to-day. Men used their shares in ships as collateral, bought 
and sold futures; hedged against possible losses; sold short and played 
the game for all it was worth, and a fascinating game it was : a hun- 
dred pounds invested might within thirty days pay back a thousand ; 
one successful cruize might win a fortune. To be sure, the chance 
of loss was great, but w^hen did that ever check the gambling spirit? 
Under these conditions the control of vessels passed rapidly from 
hand to hand. The prosperous ship-owner of to-day might be the 
bankrupt of to-morrow, and w^ithin six months' time the same vessel 
might be owned consecutively in Beverly, Salem, and Boston. This 
spirit of speculation or gambling also affected the officers and men 
of the private armed vessels. After a successful cruize many of 
them, like the Scotch Highlanders after a victory, gave up their 
positions for a time and remained ashore to squander their booty. 

The history of Revolutionary privateering in the town of Beverly 
is, as has been said, the history of the house of Cabot. Before the 
war the firm of J. & A. Cabot had no great prominence in New Eng- 
land, though of good credit and considerable means. Beginning 
with small and scattered ventures in privateers, by shrewdness 
and natural ability they had by the end of the war accumulated 
great wealth and had become the most prosperous mercantile firm 
in the State. Andrew Cabot was a student of conditions, a good 
judge of men, and his partner, Joseph Lee, was an expert in ship 
architecture. Much of the firm's success was due to the captains 
commanding their vessels, and these Andrew Cabot picked with 
rare judgment and bound to the firm by liberal and considerate 
treatment. Hugh Hill, Benjamin Lovett, John Edmonds, John 
Buffinton, and Joseph Robinson were especial favorites of the firm 
and made much money for themselves and the owners. 



422 



THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS 



[Jan. 



To give a complete list of the vessels in which the firm of J. & 
A. Cabot were interested is impossible, but that they were part 
owners in the following is certain: 



Brigantine Active 


Ship 


Pilgrim 


Ship Black Prince 


Ship 


Rambler 


Ship Buccanier 


Brigantine Reprisal 


Snow Caio 


Sloop 


Revenge 


Brig Chance 


Ship 


Revolution 


Ship Cicero 


Sloop 


Rover 


Ship Commerce 


Ship 


Sally 


Brigantine Defence 


Schooner 


Sally 


Brigantine Defence 


Sloop 


Sally 


Snow Diana 


Brig 


Saratoga 


Ship Essex 


Ship 


Sebastian 


Brigantine Experiment 


Galley 


Shaker 


Sloop Fly 


Ship 


Spanish Packet 


Brigantine Fortune 


Brigantine Starls 


Brigantine Hampden 


Schooner 


Sturdy Beggar 


Brigantine Hector 


Brigantine Terrible Creature 


Brigantine Hope 


Schooner 


True American 


Ship Junius Brutus 


Schooner 


Two Friends 


Ship Lyon 


Brigantine Union 


Ship Oliver Cromwell 







The total tonnage owned in Beverly in 17S0 amounted to 2844 
tons, and of this J. & A. Cabot controlled more than two-thirds. 
The Cicero, Revolution, Buccanier, Lyon, and Rambler were owned 
almost entirely by the firm, the others merely enough to hold con- 
trol. A certain amount of the tonnage of vessels sailing from Beverly 
was held out of town. The following list for 1780 is given in the 
Nathan Dane Papers: 



Buccanier 


200 tons 


Owne 


d in Salem and Boston 


12/96 


Pilgrim 


235 


it 


u 


u 11 u a 

" Newbury 


32/96 
16/96 


Scourge 


235 


n 


(( 


" Salem and Boston 


24/96 








(( 


" Newbury 


6/96 


Mohawk 


200 


<( 


" 


" Ipswich 


8/96 


Fortune 


90 


(1 


Out of town 


24/96 


Swift 


90 


li 


It 




24/96 


Sch. Two Friends 


60 


II 


II 




12/96 


Revolution 


260 


(( 


" 


" Beverly 




Cicero 


240 


<l 


11 


11 11 




Lyon 


300 


(I 


" 


" " 




Chance 


100 


(( 


11 


11 II 





1922] BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 423 

From 1781 to 1783 the loss of vessels to Beverly by capture was 
very great, but even then Beverly was more fortunate than her 
sister seaport town. On January 7, 1782, George Williams writes: 
"The town of IMarblehead has lost all but two or three vessels. 
The town of Beverly is almost in the same order except John and 
Andrew Cabot. They own 2^:4 parts of tliree ships in France which 
sent into France 4000 hogshead of sugar and several other prizes, 
Joseph Lee, Edward Allen and l^.Ir. Gardner own the other 14-" 
Mr. Cabot was better off than George Williams gives him credit, 
for, besides those mentioned, he owned the Rarnbler, and during 
the year bought or built a new Pilgrim and a new Commerce. As 
soon as peace was declared he prepared to carry out a previously 
formed plan. A vessel not named. Captain Fearson, had already 
sailed for the Baltic and in the early spring of 1784 the Commerce, 
Captain Tuck, cleared for St. Petersburg. She was followed May 
17, 1784, by the Sebastian, Captain Worsely, and the two ships 
arrived back at Beverly, the Commerce October 8, 1784, and the 
Sebastian a few days later.^ The two voyages were not profitable, 
but Mr. Cabot was not discouraged, and in 1785 he writes to Gardoqui 
& Sons: "We have quitted the West India trade and the trade in 
piece goods and have built two rope walks and gone into the Russian 
line, importing hemp, iron and sail cloth and sell entirely for fish. 
We supply 3^ of the articles mentioned for Beverly, Salem, Glouces- 
ter, Manchester and jNIarblehead." 

With the coming of peace, trade reasserted itself. To one who 
reads over the entries and clearances of the port of Salem from April 
4, 1783, when Captain Derby in the Astrea brought the first printed 
copy of the declaration of cessation of arms, it seems as though 
all the vessels lost during the seven years of war had sprung to life 
and assumed a peaceful guise. Vessels with the same old names, 
often with the same captain, cleared from port as fast as they could 
be fitted out. Asa Woodberry in the Sivalloiv and Robert Haskell 



^ "Elsinore May 27, 1783. Yesterday arrived the first commercial ship 
which has appeared in our seas. She came from Boston bound for Riga" (Salem 
Gazette, August 1, 1783). AsCapt. Fearson in the Buccanicr sailed from France 
for the Baltic as soon as peace was declared, it is possible that this is the vessel 
meant and that Andrew Cabot had the honor of first showing our flag in those 
waters. In 1784 the Commerce, Capt. Tuck, reached St. Petersburg before the 
Light Horse and beat her on the return voyage. 



424 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan. 

in the Tryal were among the earliest. ]May 16th Joshua ElUngwood 
in the Industry cleared for Guadaloupe, and a few days later Ezra 
Ober returned from France in the Cicero. June 16th Andrew Thorn- 
dike sailed for Hispaniola in the Acihe, and during the year we 
see Captain Tuck in the Commerce, Benjamin Lovett in the Rambler, 
John Carnes in the Sebastian, Benjamin Ives in the Volant, Richard 
Ober in the Jane, John Tittle in the Hector, James Lovett in the 
Leopard, and Isaac Ray in the Chance. 

In conclusion, it may be doubted whether privateering, from a 
business point of view, was proiBtable to our jMassachusetts seaport 
towns. A few men like Andrew Cabot and Hasket Derby made 
great fortunes, but the majority lost all they had. Still warfare 
of any kind is an economic loss, and damage to the enemy a necessary 
part of warfare, and in this sense privateering was a success. 

Appendix 
Here is given an alphabetical list of officers on Beverly privateers 
and letters of marque vessels, their residences and rank held on any 
vessel during the war, also date of commissions. 

Adams, Daniel 1st Lieut. State brigantine Independence, 

Beverly Capt. Samson Sept. 19, 1776 

Salem 1st Lieut. State brigantine Freedom, 

Capt. John Clouston Feb. 10, 1777 

Captain L. AL^ sloop Driver Sept. 1, 1779 

Commander privateer schooner Lively Apr. 22, 1782 
Captain L. M. schooner, name not given Nov. 18, 1782 
Commander privateer schooner Hawk Dec. 3, 1782 
Allen, Jesse 1st Lieut, privateer brigantine Franklin, 

Manchester Capt. John Leach Oct. 15, 1778 

1st Lieut, privateer ship Pilgrim, 
Capt. Joseph Robinson Aug. 14, 1782 

Ashton, John 1st Lieut, privateer schooner Scorpion, 

Beverly Capt. Israel Thorndike Nov. 7, 1777 

Commander privateer schooner Hampden Juty 14, 1778 
Commander privateer brigantine Nep- 
tune Aug. 5, 1779 
Bacon, William Surgeon privateer ship Franklin, 

Salem Capt. John Turner Dec. 2, 1780 

Barr, James Ist Lieut, privateer ship Oliver Cromwell, 

Salem Capt. Thomas Simmons July 8, 1778 



1 The letters "L.M." indicate "Letter of marque." 



1922] 



BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 



425 



Bartlett, John 
Beverlj ? 

Bartlett, William 
Beverly? 

Batchelder, Nathan 
Beverly 

Bickford, Benj. 
Beverly 

Bickford, John 
Beverly 



Blanchard, Samuel 
Boston 



Boardman, John 

Bowman (Bourman), 
Francis 
Salem 

Bradford, John 
Boston 

Bray, John 
Marblehead 
Beverly 



Brazail, Jamea 
Beverly? 



Commander privateer sloop Oliver Crom- 
well Aug. 11, 1779 

Commander privateer ship Oliver Crom- 
well Aug. 16, 1779 

Commander privateer ship Rover May 28, 1781 

Commander privateer brigantine Mont- 
gomery June 20, 1782 

2nd Lieut, privateer sloop Satisfaction Nov. 4, 1776 
Commander privateer brigantine Hamp- 
den Dec. 1, 1777 

1st Lieut, privateer brigantine Hamp- 
den, 

Capt. Jonathan IngersoU Nov. 1, 1777 

1st Mate L. M. schooner Valiant, 

Capt. Joshua EUingwood June 3, 1780 

let Mate L. M. snow Diana, 

Capt. William Herriek Sept. 23, 1780 

Captain L. M. ship Daniel Apr. 1782 

1st Mate L. M. ship Cornwall, 

Capt. John Edmonds Jan. 15, 1778 

1st Mate L. M. brigantine Ge7i. Wayne, 

Capt. John Leach June 17, 1780 

Surgeon privateer ship Vengeance, 

Capt. Thomas Thomas June 27, 1779 

Surgeon privateer ship Pilgrim, 

Capt. Joseph Robinson Aug. 2, 17S0 

2nd Lieut, privateer brig Defence, 

Capt. John Edmonds July 6, 1779 

Captain L. M. sloop Independence Jan. 1, 1777 
1st Lieut, privateer ship Black Prince, 

Capt. Elias Smith June 23, 1778 

Captain L. M. brigantine Fortune June 28, 1779 

SaiUng master privateer brigantine 
Terrible Creature, 
Capt. Robert Richardson Mar. 9, 1778 

1st Lieut, privateer schooner True Blue, 

Capt. Richard Stiles Apr. 29, 1777 

1st Lieut. State brigantine Tyrannicide, 

Capt. Jonathan Harraden Sept. 15, 1777 

1st Lieut, privateer ship Franklin, 

Capt. John Turner Dec. 2, 1780 

Ist Lieut, privateer brigantine Gen. 

Pickering Sept. 30, 1778 

Captain privateer ship Oliver Cromvoell Apr. 19, 1781 

1st Lieut. L. M. brigantine Union, 
Capt. William Langdell Jan. 4, 1779 



426 



THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS 



[Jan. 



Brewster, Martin 
Cape Cod? 

Brookhouse, Nathaniel 

Salem 

Brooks, John 
Salem 



Brown, Thomas 

Buckman, James 
Beverly 

Buffinton, John 
Salem 

Burchmore, Zachariah 
Beverly? 



Carnes, John 
Beverly 



Carpenter, J. 



Carwick (Carrack), 
John 
Beverly 

Cathcart, John 
Salem 



Chapman, BenJ. 
Salem 



Captain privateer schooner Hopewell Oct. 21, 1782 

Captain L. M. schooner Tyger Dec. 11, 1778 

Captain privateer ship Junius Brutus Oct. 26, 1781 

Captain privateer brigantine Lively Mar. 8, 1783 

2nd Lieut, privateer schooner True 
American, 

Capt. John Buffinton Apr. 29, 1777 

Captain .privateer schooner Scorpion Feb. 28,1778 

Captain privateer ship Junius Brutus Aug. 23, 1780 

Captain privateer ship Junius Brutus Jan. 15, 1782 
Ist Lieut, privateer ship Oliver Cromwell, 

Capt. John Bray Apr. 18, 1781 

2nd Mate L. M. brigantine Gen. Wayne, 

Capt. John Leach June 17, 1780 

Captain L. of IVL ship Sally May 3, 1777 

Captain privateer brig True American May 20, 1778 

Captain privateer ship Margwis ZaFa7/e//e Mar. 16, 1782 

Captain brigantine Union Dec. 1776 

Captain L. M. brigantine Hector Mar. 27, 1777 
1st Lieut, privateer brigantine Terrible 

Creature Mar. 9, 1778 

Captain privateer brigantine Lyon June 9, 1778 

Captain privateer ship Hector June 22, 1779 
Captain privateer brigantine Gen. 

Lincoln Aug. 31, 1779 
Captain privateer brigantine Mont- 
gomery Sept. 12, 1780 
Captain privateer ship Porus June 7, 1781 
Captain privateer ship Mohock Sept. 6, 1782 

let Lieut, privateer ship Oliver Crom- 
well, 

Capt. James Barr Aug. 16, 1779 

1st Mate L. M. brigantine Defence, 

Capt. John Edmonds Mar. 22, 1780 

1st Lieut. State brigantine Tryannicide, 

Capt. Allen Hallet Jan. 4, 1779 

Captain State brigantine Tryannicide May 4, 1779 

Captain privateer ship Essex May 6, 1780 

Captain privateer ship Essex Apr. 14, 1781 

Captain L. M. brigantine Tartar Mar. 1, 1782 

Captain privateer ship Tartar Jan. 8, 1783 

1st Lieut, privateer schooner True Amer- 
ican, 

Capt. John Buffinton Apr. 29, 1777 



1922] 



BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 



427 



Cole, William 
Marblehead 



Connolly, Thomas 
Salem 

Cressy, Samuel 
Beverly 



Bailing, Thomas 

Beverly 
Devol, Silas 



Dunham, Cornelius 

Beverly? 
Edmonds, John 

Beverly 

EUingwood, Benj. 
Beverly 



Ellingwood, Joshua 
Beverly 

Ellingwood, William 

Beverly 
Elliot, Simon 
Fearson, Jesse 

Salem 



Fearson, John 

Salem 
Foot, Samuel 



Fisher, Joshua 
Beverly 



Captain privateer schooner Viper Apr. 14, 1778 
1st Lieut, privateer ship Jack, 

Capt. Nathan Brown July 1, 1780 

Captain privateer schooner True Blue Aug. 29, 1776 
Captain privateer brigantine Oliver 

Cromwell Apr. 29, 1777 

Captain privateer ship Brutus July 10, 1781 

Captain privateer brigantine Franklin Apr. 20, 1778 

1st Lieut, privateer schooner Hope, 

Capt. William Woodberry Oct. 13, 1778 
Sailing master L. M. ship Resource, 

Capt. Israel Thorndike June 21, 1780 
2nd Mate L. M. ship Resource, 

Capt. Richard Ober Sept. 7, 1780 

Captain L. M. ship Spanish Packet Feb. 25, 1782 

1st Lieut, privateer ship Franklin, 

Capt. Allen Hallet June 29, 1781 

Captain privateer ship Franklin Dec. 16, 1781 

Captain privateer schooner Hopewell July 26, 1782 

Captain privateer ship Cornwall Jan. 17, 1778 

Captain privateer brigantine Defence July 1, 1779 

Captain privateer brigantine Defence Mar. 24, 1780 

Captain L. M. schooner Friendship Feb. 1, 1778 

Captain L. M. brigantine Sebastian Sept. 18, 1779 

Captain L. M. brigantine Active May 6, 1780 

Captain L. M. brigantine Active July 6, 1780 

Captain L. M. brigantine Ceres June 19, 1783 

Captain L. M. brigantine Mars Aug. 10, 1779 

Captain L. M. schooner Valiant June 3, 1780 

Captain schooner Industry May 16, 1783 

1st Mate L. M. brigantine Saratoga, 

Capt. Eleazer Giles Sept. 4, 1780 

1st Lieut. Marquis La Fayette 1779 

Captain privateer schooner Swett Aug. 19, 1779 

Captain privateer brigantine Fortune Apr. 27, 1780 

Captain privateer brigantine Cato May 28, 1781 

Captain privateer ship Buccanier Mar. 27, 1782 
1st Lieut, privateer brig Eagle, 

Capt. William Groves June 17, 1780 
1st Lieut, privateer schooner Warren, 

Capt. John Ravell Dec. 3, 1777 
Surgeon on a Marblehead vessel 



428 



THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS 



[Jan. 



Forrester, Simon 
Salem 



Foster, Edward 
Beverly 



Foster, Jonathan 
Beverly 

Foster, Samuel 
Beverly 



Gage, William 
Beverly 

Gage, Zachariah 

Beverly 
Giles, Eleazer 

Beverly 

Groves, Ichabod 
Beverly 

Groves, William 
Beverly 



Hacker, Hoystead 
Providence, R. I. 

Hallet, John Allen 
Boston 



Hammond, John 

Beverly 
Hammond, J. L. 

Beverly? 

Salem 



Captain privateer sloop Rouer July 17, 1776 

Captain privateer ship Centurion Jan. 4, 1780 

Captain privateer ship Jason June 8, 1780 

Captain privateer ship Patty Sept. 29, 1781 

Captain privateer ship Exchange Feb. 12, 1782 

2nd Mate L. M. brigantine Starks, 

Capt. Ezra Ober Sept. 20, 1779 
2nd Mate L. M. brigantine Fanny, 

Capt. Herbert Woodberry Aug. 22,^1780 

1st Mate L. M. brigantine Freedom, 

Capt. Benj. Ober Sept. 11, 1780 

Captain L. M. sloop Fish Hawk] Nov. 30, 1779 

Captain privateer Fish Hawk May 2, 1781 

Captain privateer schooner Surprise Aug. 23, 1781 

Captain privateer schooner Penguin May 7, 1782 

2nd Mate L. M. snow Diana, 

Capt. William Herrick Sept. 19, 1780 

Captain L. M. brig Chance 1781 

Captain privateer brigantine Retaliation Sept. 4, 1776 

Captain L. M. snow Cato Sept. 18, 1779 

Captain L. M. brigantine Saratoga Sept. 4, 1780 

Captain L. M. ship Sebastian Aug. 21, 1780 

Captain privateer schooner Blackbird Aug. 6, 1777 

Captain L. M. brigantine S^iccess Jan. 4, 1779 

Captain L. M. sloop Fish Hawk Sept. 1, 1779 

Captain L. M. brig Eagle June 17, 1780 

Captain privateer ship Buccanier Aug. 3, 1781 

Captain privateer schooner Sturdy 

Beggar Aug. 2, 1776 

Captain L. M. State slooj) Republic Dec. 5, 1776 

Captain privateer brigantine Starks Sept. 12, 1777 

Captain privateer brigantine America Dec. 24, 1777 

Captain State brigantine Tryannicide July 10, 1778 

Captain State brig Active Apr. 30, 1779 

Captain privateer brig Phoenix Feb. 16, 1780 

Captain L. M. ship Tartar Aug. 3, 1780 

Captain privateer ship Franklin June 22, 1781 

Captain L. M. brig Minerva Feb. 23, 1782 
1st Mate L. M. brigantine Active, 

Capt. Benj. Ellingwood July 6, 1780 
3rd Mate privateer ship Pilgrim, 

Capt. Joseph Robinson Aug. 2, 1780 



1922] 



BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 



429 



Harris, John 

Beverly 
Haskell, Robert 

Beverly 

Hawkins, Abraham 
Boston 

Herrick, William 
Beverly 

Hill, Hugh 
Beverly 

Hilton, Henry 
Beverly 

Holland, Wilham 
Beverly 

Hooper, John 
Marblehead 



Howland, Perry 
Beverly? 

Ives, Benj. 
Beverly 



James, William 
Beverly 

Johnson, Israel 
Beverly 

Knowlton, Joseph 
Beverly 

Lakeman, Richard 
Ipswich 

Langdell, William 
Beverly 

Langden, William * 
? 

Larcum, Henry 
Beverly 



2nd Lieut, privateer brig Eagle 

Captain L. M. sloop Driver 
Captain L. M. sloop Betty 

1st Lieut, privateer ship Buccanier, 
Capt. Hoystead Hacker 

1st Lieut. State brigantine Despatch, 

Capt. Stephen Cleveland 
Captain L. M. snow Diana 
Captain privateer ship Pilgrim 
Captain L. M. ship Cicero 

1st Mate schooner Alert, 
Capt. Jacob Oliver 

Captain privateer schooner Hope 
Captain privateer schooner Hawk 

2nd Lieut, privateer schooner True Blue, 

Capt. Wilham Cole 
2nd Lieut. State brigantine Freedom, 

Capt. John Clouston 
1st Lieut, privateer ship Pilgrim 

Captain privateer schooner Scorpion 

Captain privateer schooner Scorpion 
Captain L. M. brigantine Fortune 
Lieut, privateer brigantine Favorite, 
Capt. William Patterson 

Captain privateer schooner Adventure 
Captain privateer schooner Lee 

Captain L. M. brigantine Fox 
Captain L. M. brigantine Swift 
Captain L. M. ship Fox 

Captain privateer schooner Dolphin 

Captain L. M. schooner Diana 

Captain L. M. ship Content 
Captain privateer Centipede 
Captain L. M. brigantine Union 
Captain L. M. ship S^iccess 
Captain privateer schooner Cent-Pied 
1st Mate privateer schooner Scorpion, 
Capt. Benj. Ives 



June 17, 


1780 




1779 


Sept. 19, 


1780 


Aug. 3, 


1781 




1776 


Sept. 19, 


1780 


,Sept. 12, 


1778 


Jan. 15, 


1782 




1779 




1777 


Nov. 1, 


1779 


Aug. 29, 


1776 


Feb. 19, 


1777 


Sept. 12, 


1778 


Sept. 28, 


1779 


Mar. 18, 


1779 


July 3, 


1781 


No date 




May 16, 


1780 


Sept. 6, 


1782 


July 18, 


1780 


Oct. 20, 


1781 


May 9, 


1782 


July 14, 


1781 


Aug. 20, 


1781 




1777 


May 14, 


1778 


Jan. 23, 


1779 


May 


1777 


Dec. 23, 


1777 


June 16, 


1778 



^ There is some confusion between the names Langdell and Langden which 
the writer has been unable to unravel. 



430 



THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS 



[Jan. 



Leach, John 
Beverly 



Leach, John 
Salem 

Leach, John Jr.^ 

Leach, Nathan 
Lee, John 



Lefavour, Philip 
Marblehead 

Lovett, Benj. 
Beverly 



Lovett, James 
Beverly 



Manly, John 
Beverly 
Marblehead 



Marsh, John 
Beverly 



Captain privateer schooner Dolphin 
Captain privateer sloop Trenton 
Captain privateer brigantine Gen. Wayne 
Captain L. M. brig Fanny 
Captain privateer schooner Swett 
Captain privateer brigantine Lively 
Captain privateer ship Junius Brutus 
Captain privateer brigantine Franklin 
Captain L. M. St. Mary's Packet 
Captain L. M. schooner Valiant 
Sailing master privateer schooner Warren, 

Capt. Israel Thorndike 
2nd Lieut, schooner Warren, 

Capt. Israel Thorndike 
Captain privateer schooner Sturdy 

Beggar 
Sailing master State brig Tyrannicide, 

Capt. Jonathan Harraden 
Captain L. M. ship Sebastian 
Captain L. M. ship Rambler 
Captain L. M. ship Rambler 
Ist Lieut, privateer brig Washington, 

Capt. Elias Smith 
2nd Lieut, privateer ship Essex, 

Capt. John Cathcart 
Captain privateer ship Shaker' 
Captain privateer schooner Hancock 
Captain Continental frigate Hancock 
Captain privateer ship Cumberland 
Captain privateer ship Jason 
Captain frigate Hague 
2nd Mate State brig Tyrannicide, 

Capt. Jonathan Harraden 
1st Lieut, privateer schooner Scorpion, 

Capt. John Brooks 
Captain privateer sloop Fly 
1st Lieut, privateer brigantine Neptune, 

Capt. John Ashton 
Surgeon privateer ship Franklin, 

Capt. Allen Hallet 
Gunner privateer schooner Resolution, 

Capt. Samuel Trask 
Master privateer schooner Resolution, 

Capt. Amos Potter 
Captain privateer schooner Resolution 

' Boston, Beverlj-, and Salem are all given as the residence of a John Leach, 
and it is difficult to distinguish between them. 



Minot, James 

Boston 
Morgan, William 

Beverly 



Sept. 


28, 


1776 


Apr. 


24, 


1777 


June 


17, 


1780 
1781 


Sept. 


9, 


1778 


Dec. 


20, 


1779 


May 23, 


1780 


Oct. 


16, 


1778 


Aug. 


7, 


1782 


Oct. 


29, 


1776 


Apr. 


29, 


1777 


Aug. 


20, 


1777 


Feb. 


22, 


1777 


Feb. 


18, 


1779 


Oct. 


16, 


1779 


Mar. 


6, 


1782 


Oct. 


3, 


1776 


June 


12, 


1780 


Feb. 


26, 


1783 


Jan. 


1, 


1776 


Apr. 


17, 


1776 


Dec. 


19, 


1778 


June 


2, 


1779 


Sept. 


11, 


1782 


Feb. 


24, 


1777 


Feb. 


25, 


1778 


Aug. 


29, 


1778 


Aug. 


5, 


1779 


June 26 


1781 


Oct. 


11 


1780 


Apr. 


5 


1781 


May 


18 


1781 



1922] 



BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 



431 



Moses, Benj. Master State brig Tyrannicide, 

Salem Capt. John Fiske Oct. 26, 1776 

2nd Lieut. State brigantine Tyrannicide, 

Capt. Jonathan Harraden Mar. 10, 1777 

2nd Lieut, privateer ship Pilgrim, 
Capt. Hugh Hill Sept. 12, 1778 

Newman, Robert Captain L. M. schooner Adventure Sept. 8, 1779 

Niles, Benj. Captain privateer schooner >Scorpion June 16, 1778 

Ober, Benj. Captain L. M. brigantine Freedom Sept. 7, 1780 

Beverly Captain L. M. schooner Hawk 

Ober, Ezra 1st Lieut, privateer sloop Fly, 

Beverly Capt. John Marsh Aug. 29, 1778 

Captain privateer brigantine Slarks Sept. 20, 1779 

Captain privateer brigantine Starks July 14, 1780 

Ober, Israel Captain L. M. sloop Fish Hawk Sept. 1, 1780 

Beverly 

Obeir, Israel F. Captain L. M. sloop Little Vincent Dec. 4, 1781 

? 

Ober, James 2nd Mate L. M. brigantine Freedom 

Beverly Capt. Benjamin Ober Sept. 17, 1781 

Ober, John 1st Lieut, privateer brig Washington, 

Beverly " Capt. Ogilby May 8, 1777 

Ober, Nathaniel 1st Mate L. M. sloop Fish Hawk, 

Beverly Capt. Samuel Foster Nov. 20, 1777 

Ober, Nicholas Prize Master brig Saratoga, 

Capt. Eleazer Giles Sept. 4, 1780 

Ober, Richard Captain privateer snow Fanny Jan. 15, 1778 
Beverly 1st Mate L. M. brigantine Starks, 

Capt. Ezra Ober Sept. 20, 1779 
1st Mate L. M. ship Resource, 

Capt. Israel Thorndike June 12, 1780 

Captain ship Resource Sept. 7, 1780 

Captain L. M. brigantine Fortune Nov. 7, 1781 

Ober, William 1st Mate L. M. ship Rambler, 

Beverly Capt. Benjamin Lovett 1780 

Ogliby (Ogleeby), 2nd Lieut. State schooner Hancock, 

Nicholas Capt. John Manly Jan. 1, 1776 

Marblehead 1st Lieut, privateer schooner Warren, 

Capt. Israel Thorndike Oct. 30, 1776 

Captain privateer schooner Warren Apr. 30, 1777 

Captain privateer brig Washington Nov. 18, 1777 

Captain privateer brigantine Bellona Jan. 2, 1778 

Captain privateer brigantine Bwnfcer //'r'ZZ Nov. 8, 1778 
2nd Lieut, privateer ship Thomas, 

Capt. Richard Cowell Sept. 14, 1780 



432 



THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS 



[Jan. 



Oliver, Jacob 
Beverly 



Captain privateer schooner Hammond Dec. 10, 1777 



Parker, Timothy 
Norwich, Conn. 

Parsons, Thomas 
Gloucester 

Patten, John 
Beverly 



1st Lieut, privateer sloop Gates 
Ist Lieut, privateer sloop Bowdoin 
Captain privateer schooner Alert 
Master ship Eagle, 

Capt. William Groves 
1st Lieut, brig New Adventure, 

Capt. John Neil 

Captain privateer ship Scourge 



1st Mate L. M. brigantine Saratoga, 
Capt. Eleazer Giles 

Captain privateer schooner Spring Bird 
Captain privateer brig Spit-Fire 
Captain privateer brig Active 

Payne (Pain), Edward 1st Mate L. M. ship Count D'Estaing, 
EngUsh Capt. Elias Smith 



Porter, John 
Beverly or 
Danvers 

Potter, Abijah 
Boston 

Potter, Amos 
Boston 



Proctor, John 
Marblehead 



Quatermass, Richard 
Beverly 



Ravell, John 
Salem 

Richardson, Robert 
Salem 

Richerson, Philip 
Beverly 



Ciptain L. M. brig Experiment 
Captain privateer schooner Fox 

1st Lieut, privateer ship Franklin, 
Capt. Allen Hallet 

Ist Lieut, privateer schooner Resolution, 

Capt. Samuel Trask 
Captain privateer schooner Resolution 
Captain privateer brigantine Prospect 
Captain privateer lugger Dreadnought 
Captain privateer sloop Revenge 

2nd Lieut, privateer brig Retaliation, 

Capt. Eleazer Giles 
Sailing master State brigantine Freedom, 

Capt. John Clouston 
1st Lieut, privateer brig Rambler 

Captain L. M. brigantine Starks 
Captain L. M. brigantine Starks 
Captain L. M. brigantine Gen. Waijne 
Captain L. M. schooner Success 

Captain privateer schooner Warren 
Captain privateer sloop Morning Star 
Captain L. M. schooner Polly 

Captain privateer Terrible Creature 

Saihng master privateer brig Eagle, 
Capt. William Groves 



Jan. 23, 1778 

July 2, 1778 

1779 

June 17, 1780 

1781 
May 26, 1781 



Sept. 4, 1780 

Mar. 30, 1779 
Apr. 4, 1780 
Apr. 9, 1781 



Aug. 22, 1780 

Mar. 30, 1779 
Nov. 15, 1782 



June 26, 1781 

Oct. 11, 1780 
Mar. 31, 1781 
Oct. 4, 1781 
May 11, 1782 
Feb. 4, 1783 

Sept. 4, 1776 



Feb. 
Sept. 

Dec. 
Oct. 
Feb. 
May 

Dec. 

Sept. 
Dec. 

Mar. 



4, 1777 

2, 1779 

8, 1777 
6, 1778 

3, 1780 
6, 1779 

3, 1777 
25, 1780 
11, 1782 

9, 1778 



June 17, 1780 



1922] 



BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 



433 



Robinson, Joseph 
Salem 



Ryan, William 
Marblehead 



Sellman, J. 
Marblehead 

Simmons, Thomas 
Salem 



Smith, Elias 
Beverly- 



Smith, Ezra 

Beverly 
Stephenson, David 

Marblehead 



Stephens, Thomas 
Beverly 

Stevens, John 
Marblehead 



Stone, Samuel 

Beverly 
Sugden, George 

Beverly 



Master's mate State brigantine Massa- 
chusetts, 

Capt. John Fisk Mar. 17, 1777 
Master State brigantine Massachuseiis, 

Capt. John Fisk July 31, 1777 

Captain privateer brigantine Pluto Nov. 13, 1777 

Captain privateer brigantine Franklin Mar. 30, 1779 

Captain privateer ship Pilgrim Aug. 2, 1780 

Captain privateer ship Pilgrim Aug. 14, 1781 

Captain privateer ship Pilgrim Nov. 20, 1781 

2nd Lieut, privateer schooner Warren, 

Capt. Israel Thorndike Oct. 29, 1776 

1st Lieut, privateer schooner Warren, 

Capt. Nicholas Ogleeby Apr. 29, 1777 

1st Lieut, brig Washington, 

Capt. Nicholas Ogleeby Nov. 18, 1777 

2nd Lieut, privateer brig Franklin, 

Capt. Joseph Robinson Apr. 20, 1780 

Captain privateer schooner Lively Dec. 23, 1777 
Captain privateer brigantine Oliver 

Cromivell July 

Captain privateer ship Oliver Cromwell Mar. 

Captain privateer ship Grand Turk June 

Captain privateer brigantine Ranger Oct. 

Captain privateer brig Washington Oct. 

Captain privateer ship Black Prince June 

Captain L. M. ship Count D^Estaing Aug. 

Captain privateer ship Mohock Nov. 

2nd Mate L. M. schooner Alert, 

Capt. Jacob OUver 1779 

Master privateer schooner Warren, 

Capt. Nicholas Ogleeby Apr. 29, 1777 

Master privateer brig Washington, 

Capt. Nicholas Ogleeby Nov. 18, 1777 

1st Lieut, privateer brigantine Bellona Jan. 1, 1778 
Captain privateer brigantine Siren July 13, 1781 

1st Lieut, privateer brig Retaliation, 

Capt. Eleazer Giles Sept. 4, 1776 

Captain privateer sloop Bowdoin July 2, 1778 

2nd Lieut, privateer schooner Langdon, 

Capt. Jacob Oliver Aug. 24, 1776 

Captain privateer sloop Satisfaction Nov. 9, 1776 

Captain privateer brig Rambler Sept. 2, 1779 

1st Mate L. M. brigantine Fanny, 

Capt. Herbert Woodberry Aug. 22, 1780 

Master's mate privateer ship Pilgrim, 

Capt. Joseph Robinson Aug. 14, 1780 



10, 1778 

29, 1779 

13, 1781 

9, 1781 

3, 1776 
17, 1778 
22, 1780 
20, 1781 



434 



THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS 



[Jan. 



Swasey (Swazy), 
Nathaniel 
Salem or Ipswich 



Thomas, William 
? 



Thorndike, Andrew 
Beverly 



Thorndike, Ebenezer 
Beverly 

Thorndike, Israel 



Tittle, John 
Beverly 



Trask, Joseph 
Beverly? 

Tuck, William 
Beverly 



Turner, John 
Salem 

Vickory, John 
Beverly 

Warren, Benj. 
Salem 



Webb, Stephen 
Beverly 



2nd Lieut, privateer schooner Success, 

Capt. PhiUp trask Sept. 3, 1778 
1st Lieut, privateer brig Defence, 

Capt. John Edmonds July 6, 1779 

Captain privateer brig Active Dec. 16, 1780 

Master L. M. schooner True American, 

Capt. John Buffinton Apr. 29, 1777 
2nd Lieut, privateer ship Gen, Putnam, 

Capt. Daniel Waters July 6, 1779 

2nd Mate L. RL ship Resource, 

Capt. Israel Thorndike Apr. 29, 1777 
1st ]\Iate ship Resource, 

Capt. Richard Ober Sept. 7, 1780 

Captain L. M. brigantine Saratoga June 16, 1781 

1st Lieut, privateer schooner Hammond, 

Capt. Jacob Oliver Dec. 10, 1777 

Captain privateer schooner Warren Oct. 30, 1776 
1st Lieut. State brigantine Tyrannicide, 

Capt. Jonathan Harraden Mar. 10, 1777 

Captain privateer schooner Scorpion Nov. 8, 1777 

Captain L. M. ship Resoiirce June 12, 1780 

Captain L. M. brigantine Saratoga July 1, 1778 

Captain L. M. ship Marquis La Fayette Nov. 23, 1779 

Captain L. M. brigantine Sioijt June 5, 1781 

Captain L. M. ship Calo Nov. 20, 1781 

Captain privateer schooner Resolution Dec. 6, 1782 

Captain L. M. schooner Buckram Aug. 22, 1782 

2nd Lieut, privateer brig Washington, 

Capt. Elias Smith Oct. 3, 1776 

Captain privateer Bennington May 6, 1779 

Captain L. M. ship Lyon Mar. 6, 1782 

Captain privateer ship Franklin Dec. 2, 1780 



Master privateeer brig Washington, 

Capt. Elias Smith Oct. 3, 1776 

Captain privateer sloop Revenge Sept. 14, 1776 

Captain privateer brigantine Hampden July o, 1777 
Captain privateer brigantine Lyon 

1st Lieut, privateer schooner Modesty Aug. 6, 1779 

2nd Lieut, privateer ship Pilgrim Aug. 14, 1782 

1st Lieut, privateer sloop Patty Jan. 21, 1778 

Capt. L. M. brigantine Saratoga Nov. 20, 1779 

Capt. L. M. ship Commerce Jan. 1.5, 1781 



1922] 



BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE REVOLUTION 



435 



West, Nathaniel 
Salem 

West, Samuel 
Salem 

White, Joseph 
Salem 

Williams, Theodore 



Woodberry, Asa 
Beverly 

Woodberry, Benj. 
Beverly 

Woodberry, Herbert 
Beverly 

Woodberry, Wilham 
Beverly 

Woodberry, W., Jr. 



3rd Lieut, privateer Terrible Creature, 

Capt. Robert Richardson Apr. 4, 1778 

Captain privateer Terrible Creature 1778 

1st Lieut, privateer schooner Tryal Sept. 7, 1778 
2nd Lieut, privateer ship Oliver Cromwell, 

Capt. James Barr Aug. 16, 1779 

Captain privateer sloop Revenge May 14, 1776 



2nd Mate L. M. ship Count D'Estaing, 
Capt. Elias Smith 

Captain L. M. brigantine Sudft 
Captain L. M . schooner Swallow 

Mate cartel schooner Tryal 

Capt. L. M. brigantine Fanny 
Captain privateer brigantine Hope 

Captain privateer brig Hope 
Captain privateer ship Hope 

Captain privateer ship Neptune 
Captain privateer ship Mara 



Sept. 


14, 


1780 


Jan. 


3, 


1780 
1783 

1782 


Jan. 


14, 


1778 


May 28, 


1782 


Oct. 


14, 


1778 


June 


12, 


1780 


Sept. 


7, 


1780 



H 



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^^^APR 89 

wJ&B^ N. MANCHESTER 
INDIANA 46962 



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